Seriously?
by Invader Bean
Summary: Discontinued
1. My Friend Caused the Apocalypse

**A/N:**

Well, I decided to start yet ANOTHER story, and seeing as I've been reading a lot of self insertion, and have liked them, I've decided to take a crack at it!

Reviews and your opinion, as awlays, are welcome. And please, if you have any ideas, share them!

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><p>…<p>

"TO THE TREE!" My friend yelled in a slightly high-pitched girl's voice.

I giggled. "To the tree!" I echoed, following my friend, my voice equally as girly but not as highly pitched as her's... Well, _almost_ not as highly pitched... I _was_ excited after all.

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><p>...<p>

Outside somewhere undisclosed, the night was calm and beautiful.

A warm summer's night's wind blew over the grass, making it sway gently. Above, the moon shone like a priceless jewel, and the ancient stars twinkled, conversing in silent whispers with one another as they observed the quaint home below. They shone above like millions of small, beautiful explosions, the nearly still night seeming to redefine every beam of light and cover of shadow. Crickets chirped happily, frogs croaked, and the summer fireflies buzzed peacefully in the dew covered grass, humming to themselves as they mused over the weather. They blinked light green, talking to each other and laughing.

It was all so peaceful. The grass, the air, the home who's lights shone dimly, a sign that life lay within... It made you sigh contently just thinking about it. What peaceful, loving family lived in this country home, anyway? Certainly only the most kindhearted, peaceful, wonderful people ever to–

Wait. You know what? **None** of that really matters. This story really has _nothing_ to do with anything calm or peaceful, so I'm just gonna cut it off there. Yeah...

Anyway, like I was saying;

The home's sliding glass door was suddenly thrown open with a loud crash, as two brown haired streaks shot out of the home with loud shrieks, one of them kicking the door closed behind it without caring if the glass shattered or not. Thankfully, it did not.

Not that it would've really cared...

"_Aieeee!"_ One screamed.

_"Raaaahhh-ah-ha-ha-haaaa!"_ The other laughed.

They both held what looked like overstuffed backpacks over their heads. One of them had two sleeping bags tied around it's waist by their strings. They swung, bouncing against it's legs as it ran. It, of course, ignored them. The other – the leader – was dragging a long duffel bag behind it through the dewy grass, not caring as it got slightly wet and bounced off of hidden rocks and branches.

The one who was leading – who was a few inches shorter than it's companion – immediately headed for the opposite side of the backyard, where a tall, leaf-filled tree awaited, surrounded by bushes and grass with an area of flattened out grass and dirt at the base. It's leaves blew softly in an invisible wind, completely unaware of the screaming creatures barreling towards it. Around this little used-to-be-peaceful backyard, there was a large field full of overgrown grass that spread out towards the horizon, and surrounding that were woods, to far away to enjoy, though...

Who were these people? Well, if I could stop with my crazy self narration, I could tell you that it was my best friend and myself.

My friend, Sasha – nicknamed Sash – arrived at the tree first. Giggling, she tossed the duffel bag in a random direction, and it hit the tree with a _"Thunk!"_ as it's contents got whipped about. She sat down, rifling through her backpack casually as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened as I too reached the tree.

In truth, nothing out of the ordinary _had_ happened yet...

"Oi!" I snapped, sitting down on the grass next to her and sending a glare her way as I started untying the sleeping bags from my waist. They were starting to cut off my circulation. "_Careful_ with that, there are sodas in there, dude!"

Oops, I said 'dude' again... I said that word too much... *Sigh* So much for weaning me off of the word...

My friend looked up at me and stuck out her tongue before she went back to riffling around in her bag, grinning as per-usual. As I rolled my eyes, she got her signature "Ah-HA!" look – a mighty and scary thing – and pulled a greenish, battery powered lantern out of her over-stuffed bag and switched it on.

I blinked as she set it down on the ground. It looked... _REALLY _old... And big... How did she even fit that in her backpack?

I shook my head. Why even _ask!_ I wouldn't be able to understand the answer she gave me, anyway...

The light was nice though. Not too bright, but a dim, warm thing that chased away the dark but not the nature. I liked it...

I grinned at her in excitement and crawled on my knees over to the duffel bag, unzipping it. I was _super_ excited about today... Er, night.

Why? Because it was only a few days after the school year had ended – Woo! Summer! – and I had been invited over to my friend's house for the week.

_But!_ The _very_ best part about tonight?

My friend's parents and little brother were out at the movies tonight while we got to stay home all by ourselves!

Oh, the wonders of being a fourteen year old... It's the time when your parents are _just_ starting to trust you, and your starting to understand that they _reeeaaaallly_ shouldn't have...

Oh yes, we're so evil, us fourteen year olds... Especially when we're giggle-prone girls who live in the country and are known for being... Well, to put it nicely, 'clever'. **(A/N: By 'Country', I mean Wisconsin... We ain't hillbillies... No offense to hillbillies with access to the Internet... Do hilbillies even **_**have**_** the Internet?)**

I glanced back at my friend for a second, grinning as she muttered to herself, looking for something in her bag, no doubt. She's a few inches shorter than me, and has slightly curly dark brown hair – it's almost black, really, but it isn't... If that makes any sense... – that ends a little below her shoulders. She has circular glasses that cover her blue eyes, and an awesome – randomly insane, really – sense of humor.

At the moment, she was still in her day clothes; a black t-shirt with a picture of Gir and a squirrel with the words "Me and the squirrel are friends!" on it, jeans, and black and purple sneakers. Also, she had on a green bracelet with the letter 'I', a heart, and a picture of Gir's face on it.

Me? Well, I have long, and lighter, curly brown hair that reaches a little further than her's. (I always thought that it made me look like Hermonie Granger from Harry Potter, but it's less... _Massive_, for lack of a better word. But hey, beggars can't be choosers, or however the saying goes.)

I was wearing a green zip-up sweater designed to look like Gir, (It even had a face on the hood and a tail! Even 'nubs' to cover my hands. Nubs! Gir nubs!) over a black shirt with the newest _Doctor Who_ logo near the collar (Number 11! Yay for fish fingers and custard!), jeans, and white and blue sneakers that had splotches of black on them because I refused to clean them. (I'm lazy like that.) I also wore squarish glasses that framed my greenish (Hazel? I honestly don't know. They kinda look blue from a distance, but green when you got closer.) blue eyes.

If you haven't already guessed yet (or your just completely daft) we both are Invader Zim fans.

Huge fans.

GINORMOUS fans.

If you don't know what that is, then I suggest you stop reading this, go on to You Tube or whatever you use to watch funny internet videos with, and look it up. As soon as you get a grasp on it, you may come back.

…

Watched some videos yet? Good. Back to the story.

"What do you fancy?" I asked, using my 'British' accent as I opened the bag and peered in. I grinned a little, waiting for my friend's reply.

"You quitting the British accent, some Twizzlers, and you to set up the tent for me so I can be lazy." Sasha said, then giggled to show that she was only kidding me... Not.

I knew that no force on Earth – other than a _few_ things – could get her to help when she didn't want to, she was stubborn that way.

I pouted. "Well don't throw a wobbly, you useless knob." I muttered, laying on the British accent thickly just to tick her off. I grabbed the bag of Twizzlers and turned around, only to get a balled up pair of – horrifyingly smelly – socks to the face.

"I can't understand what your saying!" Sasha shouted as I writhed around on the ground, clutching the Twizzlers to my chest in my 'death-rows.

I was SO dramatic.

"The stink! The STINK!" I moaned, being careful not to _actually_ roll around on the ground. The ground was dirty and my Gir outfit was clean. Not a good combo... Especially with how much the Bloody thing had cost my mum to buy... She would NOT be happy if it got wrecked.

… Wow, I even _think_ like I'm British... Just goes to show how deeply the Brits have been integrated into my brain... Those evil aliens...

Just kidding, everyone knows British people – or people that like/act like them – aren't aliens... Heh... Heh...

Sasha giggled as I sat up, grinning cheekily at her. I could feel a leaf stuck in my hair, but ignored it, knowing that it would only improve the image I was trying to display; Crazy Girl Who Rolls Around In The Leaves All The Time And Sees Nothing Wrong With It...

I don't actually do that, mind you.

… Stop judging me... Stop _iiiit._..

"Just give me the Twizzlers!" Sasha pleaded, reaching for said candy item as I brushed the leaf away.

I jerked it away before she could get at it and narrowed my eyes at her. "No." I said. "Your just going to attack me with them like the last time!" **(A/N: Yes, I AM going there, Psycho Invader! You KNOW what I'm talking about! DEMON! ~jk~ … But it still left a mark... Jerk.)**

"_Noooo..._" She drew out. "I promise I won't! Now gimme!" She grasped for the candy again and I jerked it away, again.

"Swear it!" I ordered, pointing at her dramatically. Yes, I was the Dramatic Finger Pointing _Queen_.

"_Fine._" Sasha moaned. "I swear, on all the holy Jhonen – not to mention '_Supernatural_' – powers that be, that I shall _not_ maim you with candy." She said, holding up her hand. "Now _gimme!_" She said, her promise quickly morphing into an order.

I grinned, pleased that she was going to the good side for once, and handed her the bag. She immediately opened it, and pulled out a Twizzlers vine. She inspected it in an overly casual manner for a moment, before a devious grin crossed over her face. I knew immediately what was coming, but was powerless to stop it.

With a yell, she whipped my arm with the strawberry flavored vine of doom, leaving a red mark resembling the Twizzlers vine that I knew was there, even though I couldn't see it. (Owch!)

"OW!" I yelled loudly. My voice echoed slightly in the cool night air as I jumped backwards and away from my now cackling friend. I pointed accusingly at her. "You swore!" I shouted, once again using my Dramatic Finger Pointing Skills. "You swore you wouldn't! You lied to me, _liiiiiieeeeeed!_"

Sasha laughed. "Yeah, I did, but I consider Twizzlers actual food, not candy!" She said, doubling over slightly in her hilarity.

"_LIES!_" I screeched at her, which only made her laugh harder, to my annoyance. How dare she not take me seriously! Me, with all my holy wisdom!

After a second or so of glaring at her poisonously, my angry look fell away and I started laughing too. Within mere minutes, we had both been reduced to giggling heaps just staring up at the stars in our exhaustion. We managed to calm ourselves down, though, and just stared at the sky breathlessly for a while, panting. The stars were really bright tonight, even for Wisconsin... I wasn't complaining though...

I sighed a little. The stars really_ were_ nice tonight...

Like it sometimes happened – and it only happened every once in a while anyway – my heart gave a little sad squeeze.

I couldn't help but get slightly depressed when I saw things like this. It reminded me of my mortality (Dramatic I know), and how things were so big, while I was so small... I mean, just look at the sky! All that space! Wow... I wish _I _could go out there...

My eyes grew half-lidded as I stared at the stars. Would anyone even remember me? Would I make some sort of impact? Would anyone care when I died? Would I amount to anything? All these confusing and slightly depressing thoughts, I knew, were caused by my apprehension about the end of summer.

Like I said before, school had just ended...

We had graduated 8th grade, and now, High School loomed on the horizon, leaving me to wonder... Was I ready? Could I handle it? I felt too... Small to be an adult yet... I was growing up physically, but mentally, I still felt like a twelve-year-old. Everything seemed to be going too fast... I wished... I wished that I had a little more time to be a kid... That I had a place, just for myself and my friends, that we could loose ourselves in and get rid of all of our worries...

"Hey! Look at that!" Sasha shouted, pointing skywards excitedly. "Make a wish about cheese, quick!"

I blinked – used to her banter, which made sense to _me_ – and looked at where she was pointing.

I gasped in wonder as, for a few seconds, a... A light blue shooting star wit flaming purple edges shot across the sky. For a moment, we both watched it as it made it's way across the sky, and eventually disappeared over the horizon. I stared after it as my friend returned her gaze to the sky above, my longing for freedom and time renewed.

What if _I_ could go up into space... Have an adventure... Like, like the star. That star was on an adventure... Such a wonderful adventure...

I laughed a little as I envisioned myself sitting atop a familiar blue box, shooting across the sky, laughing as people stared at what they _thought_ was just a normal shooting star. My imagination-laughter increased as I shot past the huge viewing window of a familiar 'massive' space-ship... Heh... I loved having my imagination... It was mine, it was unique, and it was filled with all kinds of random crud that was completely mental, really... But, in a weird way, made sense...

"Go put up the tent." Sasha ordered abruptly. I jumped a little, shaken from my thoughts.

After a moment, I shook my head to clear it. I was too melodramatic and random at times... I needed to shut my brain up somehow... Maybe more candy? That, at least, would get rid of the sad-drama, the randomness, however, I wasn't so sure of...

I managed to sigh and groan all at the same time and got up off of the ground, knowing very well that Sasha didn't know how to put it up anyway, and that she wouldn't do it even if her **life** depended on it... Lazy bum...

After ten minutes of fake-curse filled tent-making-up, the horrid green monstrosity of cloth and metal was done. I let out a pleased sigh and put my hands on my hips, looking over my work proudly., surprised it hadn't exploded as soon as I touched it...

Long story.

"There," I breathed. "Perfect!" Then, spotting the sleeping bags still lying on the ground, I gave them each a hard kick, sending them rolling into the tent.

Ahh... Satisfying... I liked kicking things... It was so fun...

I heard a sucking sound, the kind where there isn't hardly any liquid left for your straw to get at, and turned around to see that Sasha had gotten a log from somewhere and was sucking on a juice box as she perched on it. She looked my work over critically, before removing the straw from her mouth.

"It looks lumpy." She stated plainly.

I sighed tiredly, knowing she was only joking, and took a seat next to her. "So do you, but you don't hear the tent insulting, _you,_ do you?" I asked quietly.

Sasha huffed a little, before handing me a juice box. "Meh..." She muttered, not seeming to care about my insult. She never did. She had some sort of SUPER inner emotional wall that blocked EVERYTHING she didn't want in... It was pretty impressive, really. I guess _that_ was what mad her so random... she didn't have an internal Doubt Maker/Censor to bug her... Lucky girl.

We watched the lantern for a little while, staring at the curious bugs that came to see it with us. Little fireflies and a few mosquitoes... The fireflies were cute, the mosquitoes, not so much...

"...Well." I said after a while, swatting at a pesky mosquito that had the _audacity_ to bite _me._ "Shall we do what we came out here to do, or should we just stare at the light like _we're_ the bugs?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I wiped the mosquito guts off of my arm.

Sasha sighed. "_Dang_ it, Casey, why do you always have to make me _do _things?" She moaned, but stood anyway.

I stood as well as my friend started kicking her bag to the right side of the tent-flap. "Because," I said, deciding to pick my bag up instead of kick it. "I procrastinate enough as is, I don't want to waist any time I have with you. _You_ are one of the only people my fragile mental state can handle. I wish to enjoy the temporary happiness you bring." I stated morbidly.

Don't worry, I was being exceptionally Johnny-dramatic on purpose... Or WAS I?

… I was.

At least this time.

Sasha snorted, crawling into the tent and dragging the duffel bag full of snacks, and the 'extra' parts for the tent I didn't know what to do with, in with her, leaving her backpack outside. "_Fragile?_" She asked from the safety of the tent. "Your worse than _me_ sometimes." I hear her snicker.

"_Sometimes._" I reminded her, crawling into the tent after quickly grabbing the lantern and setting my own bag on the opposite side of the tent flap. "You, on the other hand seem to _always_ be worse than _me..._"

That earned me a Twizzler to the shoulder and an angry "HEY!" from my friend.

"OW!" I shouted. "Don't be so shirty!" I snapped.

"QUIT SAYING THINGS I CAN'T UNDERSTAND!" Sasha shouted, and did what came naturally; she started throwing Twizzlers at me, using the sleeping bags she had gotten out – which was nice of her, might I add – as shields...

Which _wasn't_ as nice.

"Ow!" I shouted again, and retaliated by throwing my empty juice box – which I had stuffed into my pocket after finishing it in seconds – at her.

It hit her forehead, defying her sleeping bag barricade, causing her to abruptly become calm. Something that happened to me too sometimes...

"So, we gonna write or what?" She asked casually and as if she _hadn't_ just attacked me with candy. "'Cause, I left my bag out there, and..." She trailed off, trying to be cute so that she didn't have to write, just eat candy and drink soda and torture me with Twizzlers... Demon! Where's the salt when ya need it!

Grinning at her, not about to let her procrastinate, I set the lantern down in the center of the tent and stuck my head out of the tent. "Which notebook you want?" I asked loudly so that she could hear me. "The purple or the blue?"

"Blue!" I heard her shout, and I grabbed her bag.

After shifting through all the random crud she had in there, I found it and tossed it over my shoulder and into the tent. I heard a thud and a muffled curse and I knew that I had hit my mark. I laughed quietly.

After retrieving my own notebook from my bag – a green one filled with printed off parts of half of a story that I had written on the computer, while I wrote the second half in the notebook – I ducked back inside to see that Sasha had curled up into her sleeping bag, holding her knees up to use as a desk for her writing as she huddled into the slippery cloth.

I'd set the tent up near the tree, so my friend had decided to lean against it through the fabric. I glared at her when I saw that she'd set the duffel bag _right_ next to her, successfully blocking the only other spot with 'Tree Access'.

"Jerk." I muttered, and grabbed my own sleeping bag, setting down my notebook so that I could wrap the 'blanket' around myself and get comfortable.

Sasha grinned at me, sticking out her tongue for a second. She looked down at her notebook, and got a stumped look on her face. "Uh... Hey?" She said awkwardly. "You wouldn't happen to have a pencil, would you?"

I snickered a little. "When don't I?" I asked, reaching into my pocket. I took out a black mechanical pencil and tossed it at her. Surprisingly she caught it. As I pulled out a second pencil – an exact copy of the one I'd just tossed at Sasha – and laid down, she inspected it, a scowl on her face.

"Really? Why'd you have to give me the kind with the suckish eraser that dies after three minutes of use?" She complained, beginning to click the mechanical pencil to get the lead flowing.

"Why'd _you_ have to hog the tree spot?" I asked, mimicking her complaining tone. "And don't you insult my pencils, I've got about two hundred of those as a Christmas present, upon request, mind you..."

"Touche..." She muttered, and opened her notebook. I followed her example – after grabbing a pillow to prop myself up with, of course – and started to write.

What were we doing? Well, when Sasha had called me a few days ago and proposed this sleep over-thing, I had had a proposal of my own; why not go on a full-out writing binge while we did that?

Of course, Sasha hadn't really been paying much attention – Heck, I could hear Gir screeching in the background – and had agreed. So, when I arrived and told her that we were _actually_ going to do it... She'd been a little less than thrilled. But sadly (For her) I forced her to get her stuff together – which was a lot because we wanted to live out here for as long as we could stomach... Which was probably only two days because the severe lack of a Television in the 'Great' outdoors – and also forced her to continue the story she was working on free-hand, AKA, on paper, something she was less than thrilled about.

I was so evil sometimes... Even if it wasn't that obvious that I was a demon in human skin...

Kidding! Kidding...

Or AM I?

…I am.

… _Maybe._

"What'cha worken' on?" Sasha asked out of the blue.

I looked up from my work, suddenly finding myself snapped out of my little world – which was annoying, I'd finally murdered my Writers Block and had gotten into the Zone, but hey, I wasn't one to hold grudges... Okay, that's a lie, I am... Just not against my friends... _Well..._

"Huh?" I asked intelligently. **(A/N: Thank-you, God, for sarcasm, it makes our lives a little more liveable.)** "What?"

"WH-AT'CH-A WOR-KEN ON?" Sasha said, over pronouncing everything as she suppressed an annoyed sigh.

Hey, don't look at me! She knows what it's like to be 'In The Zone' she should have expected my severe lack of a brain... Which was, sadly, almost constant since I was always processing stories in my brain; creating plot twists, predicting a character's next move, trying to advance a plot, trying to create witty comebacks to insults I'd received preciously and incorporate them into my stories somehow...

Actually, if you think about it, my brain _is_ there... It's just too busy for reality and easily distracted in the fabric of a story. I'm pretty sure my friend's brain worked like that too, but who knew? Maybe she was better at concentrating than me? _I_ certainly couldn't concentrate long enough to find out. **(A/N: Witty, no? … No.)**

I rolled my eyes. "What am I _always_ working on?" I asked.

Sasha shrugged. "I donno." She said. "You jump around so much that I gave up trying to keep track a few months ago... It was hurting my brain-meats..." She gave me sad puppy-dog eyes.

In annoyance, I blew some hair out of my face with a puff of air. "_Invader Kat, The Emotions of a Flower,_ you?" I asked.

_"The_ _Frozen_ _Whisper."_

"Ah..."

"Mm hmm..."

"Ah..."

We both 'hmmed' in union, and then went back to writing. Just a normal conversation between us... Well, normal _for_ us... I don't think it was in accordance with society's view of _normal_...

It took me a few moments to get back on track. (I could feel that evil Writer's Block _creeping_ up on me already, blasted thing.) I'd managed to write another paragraph, when Sasha spoke up again.

"_Heeey_," she asked, and I looked back up at her to see that she had a Pibb X-tra in her hand. "Want a _so~da?_" She sang, grinning at me.

I propped myself up on my elbows a little. "Yeah, just don't throw-"

Sasha tossed the drink at me despite my attempted warning... And a little too softly, might I add.

It flew towards me, yes, but fell short. With a loud thunk, it hit the lantern and tipped it over. Both items, sugar-high deliverer and light producer, hit the ground with a crash, and a second later, the light flickered sadly and went out, plunging the world into darkness..

"... It..." I deadpanned.

Sasha 'eeped' in the dark that now inclosed the tent. "Sorry!" She squeaked. I saw a dark shape move in the, well, dark, and I could only assume that she was covering her mouth in either surprise or shock or embarrassment... Or a combination of all of them.

I waved a hand at her, and sat up, crawling on my knees towards the downed lantern. I was relying on the faint moonlight trailing in between the cracks in the canvas to show my actions to my friend.

"It's fine." I said. "It's _your_ lantern anyway... Just don't expect me to drink that soda now that it's all shook up." I added.

"Oh _yeeeaaah..._ Dang it!" I heard her say as I found the lantern. I smiled a little. Typical 'Sasha-nistic' response, using one of Gir's quote's in real life... Then again, I did that too... I did that with _everything_... EV-ER-Y-THING!

Fumbling in the dark, I found the off switch, and quickly pressed it. I waited a second, then flipped it back on. When nothing happened, I switched it off, shook it spazztacularly – thank goodness that it was dark, I was sure that I probably had a really _stupid_ look on my face – and then switched it back on.

For a moment, nothing happened, but a second later – and after I'd flicked the glass a few times with my finger nail – the lantern fizzled to life, illuminating the tent once more, thankfully.

Don't get me wrong, I had nothing wrong with the dark, but it _was_ sort of annoying not being able to see anything...

Okay, so _maybe_ I had a _few_ issues with the dark... But that was only because I'd just watched Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark... That was a LIE! I WAS afraid of the dark! Don't try to confuse me and tell me not to be!

I digress.

Sasha and I blinked as our eyes readjusted. "Thanks!" I heard Sasha say. Something shifted and I heard her continue just as my eyes refocused. "Hey, this doesn't look _too_ shaken up..." She mused. She had the Pibb in her hands and was pulling back on it's tab as she spoke.

"No!" I shouted, then, the most _horrible_ thing happened... Then... Then... _Then..._

The soda can opened with a crack and Pibb X-tra shot out of it like lava from a volcano, covering the lantern, and the knees of my jeans – which were _new, _stone the crows! – with a sticky mess of cherry flavored **(A/N: Which is a LIE! It does NOT taste like cherry! LIARS!)** carbonated cola beverage.

"Oh, for crying out LOUD!" I yelled at the same time Sasha let out a surprised yelp.

"Oh, _cheese_, I'm sorry!" She shouted as I stood up quickly.

"Don't Bloody apologize!" I snapped, grabbing my sleeping bag, pillow, and notebook in one quick movement and stuffing the notebook into the water-proofed sleeping bag. "Get the stuff out of the tent!"

"Oh! Right!" Sasha said, and quickly grabbed her sleeping bag and notebook, following my example of stowing the notebook away. We both fled the tent in seconds, dropping our stuff on the ground in a disorderly heap.

"Stay here, I'll go get some paper towels." I said tiredly, and my friend nodded. I rushed to the house, tripping a few times on stones. I flung the sliding glass door open but closed it immediately, aware that Sasha had a pet dog and a guinea pig and that I didn't know if either was allowed outside. I sprinted into the kitchen, and even though I had been here before, it took me a good three minutes to find the Bleeding towels... Gah! I'm such an idiot sometimes...

Saying more made up curses under my breath, I rushed back outside – closing the door, of course – and started back towards the tent at a leisurely jog. I was half-way there when I heard, not to mention saw, something that made my blood run cold.

A voice, Sasha's voice, yelled out, not any sort of words, just an exclamation of fear accompanied by a weird buzzing-shooing noise that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. With wide eyes, I caught sight of the tips of her toes sticking out of the tent, a second later, they disappeared into the tent with a jerk.

I barely registered that the sleeping bags and our backpacks were missing as I dropped the towels and ran as fast as I could to my friend's side. In seconds, fueled by adrenaline, I arrived at the tree.

With a cry of "Sasha!" I stuck the front half of my body into the tent, and my eyes met with a sight I barely believed was possible.

Where the old green soda-covered lantern had been, there was now a large swirling vortex of black and purple... Misty stuff, about the size of a manhole cover, maybe even a little bigger, and being sucked into said vortex, was Sasha's hand, not to mention the rest of her!

My friend looked over her shoulder at the sound of the tent flap moving and at me, her blue eyes wide and almost electric with fear. _"Help me!"_ She yelled, straining in my general direction while pulling on her trapped arm with her free one. She shifted her legs to in front of herself, pushing on the ground for more leverage. "It's sucking me in!" She yelled. "Which is _not_ cool, by the way!" She added, directing her words at the vortex-thing, something I probably would have done too.

I stared at her in shock for a second, but only a second. I wasn't like one of those idiots in the movies that went into shock and screamed and cried, I was the girl who _did_ something... Or died trying, as seemed to be the case in half of the horror movies I watched... But I was ignoring that fact at the moment... Ignoring it with every fiber of my being. _Every fiber..._

With a gasp, I did the only thing I could think to do; I grabbed my friend about the waist, positioned my feet in front of me, and strained backwards, feeling my muscles scream in objection at the amount of resistance I was feeling. I quickly linked my arms together for more leverage, grabbing my wrists in a death-grip.

It was like trying to move a wall a bus being driven by an elephant was resting on, only ten times worse, and it wasn't just keeping her still, _no,_ it was pulling on her as well! What the heck was that thing! And why wouldn't it_ let go!_

"What the _heck_ did you _DO!_" I yelled over the weird noise the... Vortex-portal-thing was making. The buzz-shoo noise was getting louder by the second, it seemed...

"Oh, so this is _MY_ fault!" Sasha yelled back, sounding quite snappish.

"WELL _you_ obviously did SOMETHING! What'd you do? Insult God's _MOTHER?_" I shrieked over the noise – which was getting rather loud. "Seriously!"

"I just _poked_ it!" Sasha said quickly and with a slight sense of exasperation as I tried tugging her back while she pushed against the ground.

"_OOOHHH!_ You just _POKED_ IT!" I screamed sarcastically as Sasha – not to mention myself – was tugged a little further into – or towards, in my case – the portal. "What was the number one rule we agreed on, _HUH?_"

"If we see something supernatural we poke it with a _stick_ first?" Sasha asked, still yelling.

"YES! And if nothing happens, then _I_ poke it! Not you! And that was a _JOKE_ anyway! _Why_ would you take that _seriously_!" I grit my teeth as our feet slid forward and we were sucked a little closer. By now, our hair and clothes were rising off of our bodies and were being drawn towards the vortex-portal as well.

"Well MAYBE, _SOMEONE_ should have been a little more _CLEAR_ when making that rule!" Sasha snapped as her arm was sucked in up to her elbow. The portal was now sucking at the edges of the knuckles of her other hand. She grimaced, her face scrunching up, whether from pain or exhaustion, I didn't know.

"Oh, is _now_ really the time for this!" I yelled, and we were sucked in another few inches. Sasha's upper arm and elbow of the other arm were now on the edges of the portal. "We're about to _DIE_, here! Shouldn't we be saying our last words or something!" I yelled. Honestly, that was the only thing I could think to do...

"_FINE_!" Sasha snapped. "...I'm sorry I never got to meet Jhonen!" She said after a moment.

"_Me too!_" I shouted. "...I'm sorry I never got to be a successful writer/artist!"

"Me too! ...I'm sorry I never got to go to Doom Con!" A few more inches, now Sasha was up to the edges of her shoulders and I could feel the portal tugging at my feet and wrists.

"_Me too!_" I shouted again. "I'm sorry I never got the voice actor for Professor Membrane to make me a ring tone!"

"I'm sorry I never got to meet the voice actor for Zim!" Now Sasha had to tilt her head back just to keep talking.

"I'm sorry I never got to meet David Tennant or Matt Smith!"

"I'm sorry they never got to make an Invader Zim movie! Or bring back the series for that matter!"

"I'm sorry you caused the Apocalypse with a can of soda and a _lantern!_" I snapped.

_"ME_ _TOO!"_ Sasha shrieked, and then, with and almighty jerk and a loud "BOOM!" a flash of light filled our field of vision, and we were both sucked into the portal.

I felt a MAJOR tug in the center of my gut, and then blackness started creeping into my vision until everything turned completely black, but not before I felt myself hit something hard, and saw a flash of light, a black form of a tall figure standing in the middle of it. Then, it was gone, and only darkness remained.

Presumably, we were dead, or at least, that's what it felt like to me... I really didn't have anything to compare It to... Dying. I mean... That's a big thing. A big, big thing.

The only thing that comes close would be saying that it felt like, seeing all that darkness, would be getting a Charlie Horse in your entire soul, you know, since it's so painful, and there's really nothing you can do about it until it decides to go away. Sure, you can rub your leg till it goes away, or put heat or ice on it, but it still hurts...

But, that isn't even remotely close to describing how it felt...

* * *

><p>There was a ringing silence after the two disappeared, but after a minute, the sounds of nature quietly picked back up, unaware of what had been lost, but aware that something <em>had<em> happened.

The only ones who _did_ understand were the moon and the stars... And all they could do was stare down at the abandoned tent sadly, and wish that they could tell the parents of the two teens that their kids would, most likely, never return... Ever. They'd seen this too many times to think that they _would_ return.

And yet, life goes on for the rest of the world... Yep, no one notices when two girls are sucked into a portal-thing, of course not...

Of course not...

* * *

><p>Well, what do you think? Good? Bad? Well, Review and tell me! I've got like, 47 pages of this typed, and a lot more in my notebook, let me know if I should continue!<p> 


	2. The Afterlife is Cheap Looking

**A/N:**

Well, I have to say, I'm surprised that I got two reviews on this thing...

Also, I've been told that Hillbillies DO have access to the Internet.

My apologies for doubting you, Hillbilies, I don't know what got into me...

As always, Jhonen owns Invader Zim, not me. I own Casey and have partial rights over Sasha, but that's it...

* * *

><p>…<p>

My eyes were shut tight, and...

I couldn't feel my legs.

…

Actually, I couldn't feel a lot of things, but I felt that I couldn't feel my legs the most.

…

Did that even make any sense?

…

What did it matter, I was dead, anyway...

…

_Was_ I dead?

…

Was this what death felt like?

…

Was _Sasha_ dead?

Where was she anyway?

If she_ was_ dead, then shouldn't we be together?

…

… Unless, of course, we'd been sent to different... _Places..._

_ …_

That made me sigh sadly. (Was I sighing? _Could _you sigh if you were dead? Well, like physically, how do you know if your, like, spirit-sighing or something, anyway) _That_ seemed logical, only... It left me to wonder which of us had been sent to which place... Hmm... Kind of an amusing thought to toy with, really... And kinda scary...

As I lay there with my eyes closed, musing over what the after life would be like, if I would see anyone I knew, how big it might be, if there was room for me, or if wherever I was had bagels and orange juice, I gradually regained the feeling in my limbs...

Except for in my legs...

My eye twitched.

_Come on legs, give a girl a break! What, were legs, like, illegal in the after life or something? I mean, what kind of-_

"Guh... Ugh... _Ooooowww_... Dang it!"

My body – or whatever it was my mind (or soul) was controlling at the moment – locked up.

_Sasha?_

"_Jeez_, that hurt..." There was a pause, then sudden gasp. "Holy mother of _cheese!_ Cas!" She shrieked, using my nickname.

_Myep... Definitely Sasha..._

"Wait... What the FUDGE happened to us! To _you!_ Oh my God! Casey! Wake up, dang it! CASEY!" Sasha snapped, and I felt someone shake my shoulders. "Oh, wait a minute, crud! I'm on your _legs!_ Gimme a second!" There was a shifting sound, and miraculously, my legs regained their feeling. Yes! My _leeeeeggggsssss! _My_ LEGS!_

… Shut up.

…Well, I might as well see what was going on since we were both either dead, or just flat-out crazy... I was voting for a mix of the two... Okay, the last one... Mostly.

With a groan and a sudden headache, I opened my eyes... And was greeted with a cartoonized sun, which I found odd, not because it was a _cartoon_ sun, but because it was just night a few moments ago... Then again, death was weird... And, apparently, a cartoon.

_Why can't I just wake up in the afterlife and find that reality finally makes sense? Come on!_ I thought, a little ticked off.

Oh, and no, it was not the creepy smiling sun that reminds you of psychopaths, but the kind with an _outline._.. A vaguely familiar outline at that... I couldn't quite place it, though... Not at the moment... Curse my slow brain!

Staring at the sun was getting to my head, literally. It was making my headache seriously _worse_, so with another groan, I forced myself to sit up, and look in the direction of my friends voice...

My first thought: _I've gone insane..._

Second thought: _Since when have you cared?_

Third thought: _Shut up._

I decided to ignore my brain-meats and focus on what I was seeing... And I _really_ hoped what I saw was my friend, because otherwise, I was in _trou~ble_...

If it _was_ Sasha, then she had changed. Not like she'd gotten an angelic glow or a new hair style or anything, – which it looked like she _had..._ The hairstyle thing, not the angelic glow... – no. No, it was more like she had become a cartoon...

Literally!

She had gotten very, very, very very very, _VERY_ short, and her eyes had gotten very, very, very big, now being framed by huge glasses that I found familiar somehow. Other than her glasses, the only other thing that had changed was her hair, which split in the center of her upper forehead into two... How to explain it...? Well, into two upside down dove's wings I guess... And instead of ending at her shoulders, her hair ended... Seemingly a little above her tailbone. The way she was... Drawn? Was slightly familiar... But I couldn't place the style... Oooh, but it was so _familiar!_

"What the H?" I asked aloud, being my usual deep and tear-jerkingly touching self. "Are we dead or something? Is this heaven? Am I insane?" If this was heaven... Heaven was kinda cheap looking... And if I was insane... Insanity was also cheap looking... I'd have to file a complaint... Wait, _was_ there a place you could file a complaint for your insanity being too cheap?

"Sash, is that you?" I asked, shaking my head to rid it of my random thoughts.

My friend's eyes filled with relief. "Your alive!" She shouted, filled with joy. Her voice rang loudly, clearly, happily, and joyfully... Right in my ear.

I flinched. "Uh, ow?" I said, rubbing at my ear a little. I looked over at Sasha to see that she was giving me a weird look. Well, a weirder than normal look. "Uh, what?" I asked nervously.

Lots of "uh's" today... I'd have to wait for my brain to catch up before I could say something vaguely meaningful.

She blinked at me. "OMGYOULOOKLIKEGIR!" She screeched, making me fall backwards and hit the ground with an "oof!" in a very comedic manor.

I stared at the sky in shock for a moment, feeling a throbbing pain in my head that, after a minute, faded away. Weird, pain usually stayed with me longer... Huh.

"That would be because I'm wearing a Gir _costume._" I deadpanned, sitting back up. "And wherever we are looks like a cartoon... Apparently." I poked the ground a little bit, making sure it was real and not a hologram or something... Cool... The ground here was squishy... Squish... Squish... _Squish..._

Ahem, anyway...

"No, I mean you really _do_ look like Gir!" Sasha continued, shouting. "Just look at yourself! Look!" She pointed at me. "That is SO cool!"

Apparently, me looking like, as she had said; 'Gir' was not 'freak-out-and-scream-in-fear' worthy in her book.

Blinking again, and ceasing my ground-poking, I looked down, only to gasp in shock. I _was_ a cartoon too, just like Sasha!

I seemed to have gotten very short, just like Sasha, but my Gir outfit... It really _did_ look like Gir's _actual_ outfit! (Minus the black legs, of course, I was wearing jeans.) Bulgy zipper and all! As I looked down at myself, something suddenly clicked... And filled my heart with so much joy, that I was afraid that it might explode, and, being where I thought we were... That could very well happen.

"OMDWE'REININVADERZIM!" I shrieked, bringing my hands up to cover my mouth after recognizing the drawing style, and yes, I did say "D", it means 'Doctor'... Doctor Who fans should get this...

There was a moment of awed silence, in which Sasha stared at me with huge eyes. So huge, that I thought that they might pop. She blinked at me, then suddenly fell backwards, her arms flying out in front of her like noodle-y streamers.

"Sasha!" I yelped and jumped up, literally. I _literally_ jumped up, landing on my feet – but I didn't have time to wonder at _that_ – as I leaned over my friend, my hands clasped against my chest in worry. I was expecting to see a glazed expression on her face...

Well, it _was_ glazed, just not with shock...

"We're in _heaven!_" She sighed loudly, and I face palmed... As true as that statement was starting to appear...

She sat up and looked at me suddenly. "How'd we get here anyway? I just remember our stuff gettin' sucked into the tent, then when I stuck my head in, it was all dark so I stuck out my hand then, POOF all this magical crazy-stuff happened... We die or something? Shouldn't we be like... With a _tour guide_, or do we just wing it like _real_ life? I mean, look at where we are." She shot off, speaking a mile-a-minute... Like usual...

I blinked at her, before I actually looked around at our surroundings. We were in some sort of alleyway... The clay colored walls were stained with slimy grease and graffiti, and there was a dumpster a little ways away, also stained with grease and graffiti. How did we get here and where were we, _indeed?_

I pursed my lips, looking around until my eyes rested on a piece of graffiti. "Bad Wolf." It read.

I grinned... HUGELY.

Oh, no way, just no Bloody way... This was like Wonderland, Neverland, and The Wizard of Oz all wrapped up into one big happy bundle of insanity and madness.

I shook my head a little as an explanation that at least made a_ little_ sense came to me. _That_ made it _all_ make a little more sense...

Well, at least in my warped, 'Doctor Who' filled brain it did...

"...We seem to have gone through some sort of inter-dimensional portal... _Or_ we have, possibly, died." I said slowly. I frowned a little. "Maybe when the soda spilled on that old lantern, either the lantern itself, the batteries, something whacked up in the soda, or a combination of all of those things created that purple and black portal-thing..." I turned around to look at my friend, feeling slightly proud of my quick deducing – and slightly Doctor Who themed – skills. "It then sent us here." I finished, placing my hands on my hips in my; 'Hear my mighty Doctor-like explanation and be awed by it!' pose.

Sasha blinked at me, chewing on a Hersey bar she'd pulled out of nowhere, chocolate speckling her chin. "Whuh?" She asked, crumbs falling out of her mouth and rolling down her chin.

Face, meet palm. Now that you have been acquainted, hopefully we can end these meetings...

Maybe...

_Probably_ not, though... Probably _not..._

I sighed slightly. "The portal sent us here because it was _magic_." I said, wording 'magic' rather sarcastically. I peeked through my fingers at Sasha. "Hey... Where the _heck_ did you get _that!_" I demanded, lowering my hand, just now processing that she had chocolate. "No fair! _I_ want chocolate too!"

Yeah, I wasn't freaking out over the fact I was in Invader Zim with my BFF, I was freaking out over the fact that my BFF had chocolate and I didn't.

I was either really cool, or really dumb.

Sasha blinked at me, and pointed to the end of the ally – a dead end, mind you.

I looked over at where she had pointed, and spotted something that made my heart leap. It was... Our bags! Sasha's black and purple backpack and my own black and red one, not to mention the small duffel bag filled with snacks! How didn't I notice that before?

"There IS a God!" I yelled, and rushed to my backpack, religious faith in Karma restored.

Sasha followed me a lot more slowly. "Why do you say that?" She asked mildly, biting into her candy again, as she was used to my comments of... Weirdness.

I ignored her, starting to rifle through my own bag. I found what I was looking for after I had pushed some socks aside. "YES!" I cheered, holding the object up over my head proudly and as if it was some sort of holy object, which it _was._ "My SKETCHPAD! _Thank_-you, Jhonen!"

Sasha pointed at my sketchpad. "Why are you so happy about _that?_" She asked, biting into her chocolate yet again. Rubbing it in my face... Jerk.

I'd turned around, holding the sketchpad to my chest as I bit my lip in pure hyper-tensioned happiness. When she said _that_, though, I gave her a blank look. "_Well,_ would _you_ want to be stranded in a, presumably, alternate dimension and/or heaven and/or 'You Know Where' without anything you owned?" I deadpanned.

"Touche..." She paused. "Hey... Where are our notebooks?" She asked, sounding slightly panicked.

I blinked, trying to remember as I held off my own panic. "Uh... Oh! In the sleeping bags!" I said, snapping my fingers.

We both lunged for our respective bags and pulled out our notebooks. We both let out sighs of relief as I hugged mine and Sasha just jumped up and down a little to release her happiness. She paused suddenly, and looked down at it.

"Hey..." She said slowly, and looked up at me a glint in her eyes. "You don't think we could find... You know, _our_ characters, here, do you?" She asked hopefully.

I rolled my eyes, trying not to let on how much that idea appealed to me. "If this _really_ is the IZ Universe, do you honestly think _they_ would be here? Jhonen didn't make them, we did... Not to mention the fact that _our_ brains alone are not powerful enough to create our own dimensions that close to the _original_ Invader Zim Universe_..._ _Jhonen Vasquez's_, however, yes... _His_ brain is magical."

Sasha stared at me, looking _really_ shocked. "Uh... _What?_ Me no speaky 'Casey'..." She said before grabbing her backpack and stuffing her notebook into it.

I sighed. "Nothing..." I muttered. "Just my own preconceptions slipping through the cracks... Just ignore my insane mutterings like you usually do." I began stuffing my notebook and sketchpad into my backpack as Sasha stood up, the backpack in one hand and her sleeping bag in the other.

"Mmph, _Whu?_" She mumbled around the candy bar that was now stuffed in her mouth.

"Yeah, like that..." I muttered. My gaze snapped back to my bag suddenly and widened in surprise. I quickly closed it. "Uh, hey, Sasha? Have you noticed how our backpacks are smaller than they were before... Yet they're still full of all our junk, with a little room to spare as well?" I asked nervously, looking over at my friend.

"...Yes, but I was trying to ignore that." She said quietly and, surprisingly, with a tone of fear. The candy bar had fallen out of her mouth. "D-Do you know why that is? It's not like, another portal or something, is it? Because I _really_ like it so far here in Invader Zim Land, and that dimension hopping gave me a _serious_ headache..." She said, grimacing.

I grinned at her as I turned in her general direction, swinging my backpack onto my back and over my shoulders. "Don't worry, Sash, it's just that... _They're bigger on the inside._" I said, using a British accent. **(A/N: Hurray for Doctor Who references!)**

My friend squinted at me in the I.Z. Style of 'Anime' squinted eyes, which was rather impressive since her eyes were so big now. "Is that from your crazy British show?" She asked in monotone.

"_Molto Bene_, Sasha! I didn't think you'd get it!"

Unable to face palm because of her full hands, Sasha just hung her head with a sigh, her hair falling over her shoulders and covering her face. She stayed like that for a minute, before she looked up at me.

"Hey, what do I look like?" She asked. "'Cause you look pretty cool."

I blinked. "Really? I do?" I asked excitedly. "What do I look like, huh?"

"Well... Your ears are kinda pointy, not really though, and your hair's still brown, but it's a little darker, and kinda looks like Gaz's" Sasha explained, squinting at me.

I blinked. "Kinda? What do you mean by 'Kinda'?"

"Eh, well, it's uh, well, you know the longish top tooth-bang thing she has? Well, you have that too, only its closer to your head and not that far away, and instead of that curly lower 'tooth', you just have one... Hair-clump. Your hair's gotten longer too, it's like, almost down to your tail bone, and it sort of flares out in one 'hair', then joins together... You have Jhonen's cameo glasses with the squiggly, bent up part in the middle, too, but I can see your eyes."

She paused a second before contunuing. "Oh! And your eyes are _really_ green, too! Like, rainforest green, which is weird 'cause they were more blue before..."

Wow... Sasha was good at explaining things...

I grinned, able to picture what I looked like. I thought I probably looked pretty kick-butt, like the 'tough' girl or something... At least I _hopefully_ looked like that... Otherwise I probably looked stupid...

Knowing _my_ luck, _that_ was true... Dang it!

"So?" My friend piped up, putting on her backpack and tucking her sleeping bag under her arm. "What do _I_ look like?"

"Well, your shorter than me..." I grinned at the angry look she shot at me. "Uh, your hair's basically the same, only your bangs look like upside down dove's wings, and your hair is down to your tailbone as well with the same kind of 'bottom' hair, only it's a little more gentler than a 'flare'. Uh... Oh! You have _total_ Dib glasses, too, dude! _Lucky!_ _And_ your eyes got _seriously_ blue, like, electric!" I said happily. My friend looked like a 'loveable' cartoon character, how sweet. "They're really shocking!"

**(A/N: Ahhahahahaha! Funny! … NOT!)**

"Dib glasses! Really?" Sasha asked. "_Sweeeeeet!_"

I grinned at her obvious excitement before I pointed to the end of the alley, where I could see cars and pedestrians running around. "Shall we go see where we are?" I asked, tipping my head slightly.

That was really the only thing I could think to do at the moment, I hadn't gone into 'Writer Mode' yet; the mode where I took everything like it was a story I was reading or writing.

When I was in that mode, I was a calculating, clever, demonic little thing that could get work done and go places... When the Writer's Block monsters didn't bite my head off that is... But hopefully, there would be no Writer's Block monsters here... Alas, I digress...

Sasha glanced back at the street before looking at me, clearly apprehensive. "Is that _really_ a good idea? I mean, we don't know where we are... And if we _are_ in Invader Zim... Well, look at what we're wearing!" She gestured at her Gir t-shirt then at my Gir outfit. "We _might_ just freak a few people out..."

I pursed my lips a little. "Well... True, but before we even worry about any of the _main_ characters seeing us, we should probably find a place to live." I said, nodding to myself.

"Huh? Why?" Sasha asked, tipping her head in confusion.

"Isn't that usually one of the first things 'people' do when they're sucked through a portal and into Invader Zim?" I asked. My head was starting to clear, and the previous stories I had read were popping into my mind, filling it with options and ideas... Although I didn't know if any of them were necessarily _good_ ideas...

Sasha shrugged. "I donno. I haven't gotten to read as much fan fiction on that, er... _This_ subject as you have." She said with a shrug as I walked over to her.

Hearing this, I let out a loud groan and stomped my foot in frustration. "Does this mean that _I_ have to be the captain of this crazy-ship?" I moaned. "Seriously?"

My friend nodded, grinning at me with her tongue sticking out of her mouth. "Aye-aye captain!" She shouted, saluting.

I sighed a little, but managed to muster a small smile. Sasha always could make me smile...

"Okay... Fine." I said. I stood a little straighter. "Let's go, then!" I ordered and started marching out of the alleyway, Sasha following with a grin on her face.

I could do this. This all was just like a story, all I had to do was imagine myself as a character in a story, and then see where the Universe took me. I could be the author. The author of this mad, crazy thing that had just happened to us...

_Briiiiilliant_...

_ What_ exactly had we gotten ourselves into, anyway?

When we left the shady alleyway, our eyes were immediately bombarded with evil, blinding sunlight, I squinted in annoyance and looked around as soon as my eyes refocused. We appeared to have been 'transported' – honestly, I didn't know another word to describe it – to the outskirts of a largish city.

At the moment, we were in a slightly busy store district, standing in between a pet store and a hardware store. Judging by the sun and the amount of cartoon people and cars scurrying/driving around, it was rather early in the morning. I squinted as the low-lying sun shone out from between some buildings and into my eyes.

"Which way should we go?" I mused aloud. "Towards the city... Or away...?" I used my free hand to push up my glasses a little, trying to focus on my surroundings, evaluate, see what I could do with all... This.

All this... Craziness...

"Away from the city has the advantage of distance and isolation, but being in the actual city gives us different advantages when it comes to hiding places... What do _you_ think, Sasha?" I asked, thinking more-so of survival at the moment, not knowing how this world really worked.

Receiving no response after a minute, I turned around and stared at my friend and at what she was doing. "Dude." I stated rather bluntly.

Sasha was sitting with her legs crossed in front of the pet store's front window, staring at the weird and dirty fat puppies that looked at her out of the glass where they were on display. "_Awwwwww..._ They're so _cute!_" She cooed as one of them smacked it's head into the window repeatedly.

It's a sad fact that that was one of the _smart_ ones... The others were rolling around in their own filth.

_Uhhhhggghhh..._

Rolling my eyes, I leaned against the bricks the window was set in, and let out a bored sigh, deciding to wait it out and let Sasha have her moment.

After about a minute, she blinked, seeming to remember that reality existed, and stood up. She tied her sleeping bag's string onto a backpack strap. Finding that a good idea, I followed her example.

"Let's go deeper into the city!" She said as I finished attaching my sleeping bag to my backpack. I looked up to see her pointing in the direction of all of the skyscrapers. "If we're going to be staying here for a while, I wanna live by Zim and Dib!" She smiled at me.

Finding nothing wrong with that, and agreeing fully, I nodded. "Sure... Hey, give me a second before we get going, though." I said before I darted back into the alley, something occurring to me. I returned not a second later with the bag full of snacks.

Snacks _were_ a necessity, after all.

Sasha grinned at me. "Onwards!" She cried when I had returned and we started marching down the sidewalk and, hopefully, towards the main characters of Invader Zim.

_"Allons-y!"_ I agreed.

"QUIT IT!" Sasha shrieked at me, and I started laughing. Neither of us seemed to realize how evil it sounded though, and soon enough, Sasha was laughing too, and in the same way, earning us some weird looks...

_That_ could be problematic...

Not that we cared.

* * *

><p>...<p>

I hope this has appeased you, for now! Allons-y, my friends, I'll update soon, because this chapter wasn't fery interesting... Mostly filler.


	3. To Johnny's house we go!

**A/N:**

So, sorry for the late update. I would've updated yesterday, but I hurt myself on Monday, so I was confined to the couch yesterday ( i broke my right ankl/foot, apparently, IDK, the doctor is rubbish... I really hate him...) ... Anyway, reviews! This keeps deleting on me, so maybe it will uplode NOW!

To Darkinvader897:

Alice in Wonderland, you say? I MUST BE PSYCIC! WHOOO!

But seriously, thanks for the review, and I'm glad I found another Doctor Who fan!

To IceLuxray:

As always, you are an endless well of entertainment and faithful reviewing-ness...

WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING YOU'D SAY! STOP INVADING MY FIC, DEMON!

But seriously, thanks.

To Ta1ia:

YOU WANT ANOTHER CHAPTER! WELL, HERE! *Throws update at face* Thanks for your review!

P.S. DOCTOR WHOOOOOOO!

To invaderRaz

PURPLE NINJA MONKEYS! GIMMIE! I DON'T NEED MY LIVER ANYWAYS! WHOOO-HOOO!

P.S. So glad you liked it!

...

Well, on with the story!

* * *

><p>…<p>

"I'm so _tired!_" Sasha moaned, collapsing head first into a pile of fallen leaves located in the shade of a _random_ tree in the _random_ neighborhood that we were _randomly_ navigating. "Why's it have to be so _HOT_ out anyway?" She snapped.

I just shook my head, and sat down next to her, leaning my back against the tree as comfortably as I could as I set the duffel bag down next to me. "I don't know." I yawned tiredly, sweating. _Jeez,_ it was hot out today! It _should not_ be this hot out!

We had been walking for what felt like hours, but according to the sun, was only one or two. I groaned a little. Time seemed rather wacky in this... _Place._ You could be walking for great distances, and it would only take you an hour, but you still felt as though you'd been walking for forever. You could go great distances _without_ effort, too... _Or,_ you could be moving quickly but not be getting anywhere... It was rather annoying... And random...

Sasha and I had finally reached the 'homeowners' part of the city, and we had been wandering aimlessly around, having absolutely _no_ idea where we were.

"I want a _sooooodaaa..._" Sasha moaned. I groaned in reply, and she hit my knee – both of which were still _insanely_ sticky from the spilled Pibb – which felt like it had occurred _years_ ago at this point – and not to mention gross – with a lazy and slow moving arm. "_Pleeeeaaasse...?_ I'm _dying!_" Sasha once again moaned.

I sighed, and started digging through the duffel bag for a soda, glancing around with narrowed eyes as I did.

We had stopped on a random **(A/N: WOW, I seem to be using that word a lot, lately...) **and fairly deserted street, and had 'died' under some random home's tree. Finding myself too tired to really take in the other homes at the moment, I simply grabbed two cokes – which were, amazingly, still pretty cool – and set one sideways on my friend's forehead.

Sasha sighed in relief, raising a hand to hold the soda still on her forehead so that it wouldn't roll away. I pressed my own soda can against my neck, unzipping my Gir sweat-shirt. Why did something so cool have to be made out of such a stuffy fabric as fleece! Seriously! I loved Gir, _so_ much... But I could _not_ stand his outfit...

At the moment, at least.

"What now?" My friend asked, eyes closed as she enjoyed the semi-coolness the soda can and shade brought. "We need a place to stay... And if it's _this_ hot in whatever season this is – and don't tell me that it is summer because I have seen _no_ kids – then we need a place with a _pool_ or something!"

"I don't know." I said, cracking open my soda and downing half of it in a matter of seconds.

Yeah, I drink soda like that... No patience with me, nuh-uh. None.

"In these kinds of stories," I continued. "The OC's usually get _really_ lucky and find an abandoned house or something..." I took another gulp of soda, leaving the can mostly empty. "So-" I cut myself off, nearly choking on my soda as I spotted something across the street from us. "Uh, Sasha?" I asked, elbowing my friend slightly to get her attention. "Sit up and look at this for a moment, would you?"

She groaned but complied, peeling her over-heated carcass off of the ground and out of the leaves, some of which stuck in her hair. "What?" She asked tiredly. "I don't see..." She trailed off suddenly as she spotted what I had.

Across the street was a vaguely familiar home.

Okay, not vaguely, HUGELY familiar.

The grass was overgrown and almost dead-looking of course, but it was still recognizable. The windows were boarded up, the roof was half flat, half risen, and "777" was placed on the wall of the home, written in chipped-looking white paint, right next to the door. A large "ABANDONED" sign had been hammered into the ground next to a beaten looking mailbox.

"Oh... My... God..." Sasha said. "That... That sort of looks like... Like _Johnny's_ house..."

"...Only a bit newer and with a little – okay, a _lot_ – more grass..." I agreed, nodding slowly. We looked at each other, both of us positively shocked. We blinked in union, and fell silent for a about three seconds. Three. Seconds. _Three_. Then;

"_I_ wanna ring the doorbell!" Sasha shouted, and rushed off to reach the house first, leaving a trail of leaves behind her as she crossed the street in a blur.

_Oh, no..._

"No! Wait!" I shouted, dropping my soda.

I grabbed the duffel bag and ran across the road after her. I reached the lawn just as my friend reached the half-way point between the road and the front stoop. With a burst of energy I didn't know I had, I caught up to her, and grabbed the back of her collar with my free hand, halting her.

"Are you _insane!_" I shouted.

Sasha continued to run in place on the front step, straining out a hand to press the door bell. "But I wanna ring the bell!" She complained, and lunged at it again.

"Do you _know_ what happens when you ring the bell?" I snapped, jerking her back slightly.

"Yes! Why do you think I wanna ring it!"

My eyes widened in shock and I snatched my hand back, causing Sasha to smack face-first into the door. "What is _wrong_ with you!" I asked as Sasha comically sank to the ground, her face still pressed against the door. Oooh, I hope she doesn't get splinters...

Sasha rolled onto her back, grinning at me with her head propped against the door and her neck bent at an uncomfortable looking angle. There was a small scuff on her forehead from the impact with the door.

_ "Many things..."_ She said, using her go-to phrase for whenever someone asked her that, wiping the scuff away.

I rolled my eyes and pulled my friend to a standing position with my free hand; not unkindly. "This isn't make believe anymore, Sasha." I explained in a quiet serious tone. "If this really _is_ a different dimension, then those people are just as real and alive as you or I. They feel pain. They have feelings, lives, souls... We can't just take that away like this is some sort of game, we have to be serious when it comes to things like this... Okay?" I said, tone slightly pleading.

Sasha blinked. "_Sooooo..._ We're knocking?" She asked, seeming to have sobered up a little, thankfully.

"Myep!" I said, and promptly rapped on the door four times. (Tap, tap, tap, THUNK!) I tucked my hands behind my back as Sasha bounced up and down excitedly on the stoop next to me. Tucking my hands behind my back was... _Kinda_ a habit of mine. I didn't usually have room in my pockets for my hands since they were always so full of junk... And I didn't like standing with my arms crossed.

Thus; they went behind my back.

Sasha, on the other hand, just liked to bounce.

"Just think, we're about to meet _the_ Johnny, C.!" She practically 'squeed'.

I blinked, suddenly realizing something. "Uh... Sasha?" I asked quietly.

_"Yeeeeesssss?"_

"We're about to meet the _Johnny C.!_" I said in a deathly-quiet whisper, staring wide-eyed at the door as I began to tremble ever-so slightly.

"... Oh, _crud!_" Sasha yelped, and we looked at each other fearfully. "What have we _done!_" She yelled, holding her hands at her face in horror.

"_We?_" I snapped, glaring at her. "_You_ wanted to knock, I was just the meat-puppet that did your dirty work!"

Sasha didn't respond, just stared at the door fearfully. I quickly followed her example, finding myself wondering if he would just slam the door in our faces – having probably assumed that we were there to sell cookies or something – or invite us in, and kill us...

Or maybe, thinking more insanely, he would ask us to tea. Heh heh... That would be nice, Tea With Johnny C... Heh...

Oh dear God... We were _dead_.

We stared... And stared... And stared some more... Blinked... Stared some more... Stared... Scratched the back of our heads... Then continued staring... Some more staring... _Mooooorrrrrreeeee_ staring... Scratched our butts a little bit, then stared some more...

"_Bloody..._ I don't think anyone's home." I sighed after a good ten minutes of staring at the door with nothing happening. I tensed, my foot twitching slightly as I readied myself, getting an idea... A very rash idea, but an idea non-the-less...

"What makes you say that?" Sasha asked, looking at me curiously.

In answer, I lifted my foot and slammed it into the door with all the the force my tiny 14-year-old-but-maybe-more-twelveish cartoonized body contained, which was a surprising amount. I must've had my 14-year-old strength combined with crazy cartoon strength or something!

The door blasted open with a crack, swinging around to smack the wall it was set in. Instantly, it revealed a dark, and rather small, living room.

I never said that it was a good idea.

I strutted into the cool home, my nose up in the air. Sasha stared at me with wide eyes. "Why the _heck_ did you do _that!_" She yelped, entering the house with a fearful yet curious glance around.

Yeah, instead of running away in fear from me and my insanity, she was having a look about...

We are so weird...

Must be why we're best friends.

I froze, my fists clenching at my sides as I felt my shoulders rise and my head sink slightly, anger burning deep in my stomach. I whipped around without warning, and tucked my hands behind me.

Tipping my head slightly, I smiled spitefully at my friend, nay, at the _world_.

Dramatically of course... This was _me_ we were talking about.

_ "I..."_ I said quietly. "Have not had any _orange juice_ for, presumably, twenty-four hours, and it is starting. _To. Get. To. __**Me.**_" I growled, my voice having dropped several octaves.

Yep, you heard right; Orange juice. Yep, I'm a weirdo... Can't live without the stuff... It's like my version of coffee or something...

Sasha just rolled her eyes and started looking around. "You and your orange juice..." She scoffed, letting her bag slip from her shoulders and fall to the ground with a thud.

"Mm-hmm..." I agreed, not bothering to argue. I did the same thing Sasha had done, and started to look around as well.

The house was rather dark, thanks to all the boarded up windows, not to mention that it was a dusty house. The air was ridiculously still and old-smelling. There were cobwebs and dust bunnies everywhere, and the place smelled weird, not just old air weird, but... Just weird.

An... Undefined weird, yeah, that was it; Undefined weird. I'd have to use that sometime...

I glanced around at the boxes before spotting at least four or five different doors. I crossed the room and peaked my head into one curiously. The room appeared to be a... An actually bright and nice kitchen. It had counters, cupboards, a fridge, and a round table... All very kitchen-y. The counter wrapped around the room, but jutted out in a little... Island, could you call it? Separating the rounded table from the sink... It was very nice. Homey.

I ducked out of that room and crossed the living room to a different door, grinning when I spotted Sasha riffling through a box filled with cloth of some sort, a slightly disgruntled look on her face. Ducking my head into the next room, I saw that it was empty, just a big empty room, and went to the next one.

To my surprise, this door led to a hallway, which I found – after ten minutes of thorough investigation – contained two bathrooms, three bedrooms, two closets, and a stairway leading up. Being curious of course, I ascended, and after a minute of stair-climbing – which seemed ridiculous because the house wasn't even that tall **(A/N: It's bigger on the inside! Everything is!) –** I came to a hallway with two doors. After staring at them for a few moments, I shrugged, and opened the first door.

I figured I had nothing to loose.

I stared in shock at all of the weapons that lined the walls before me. Knives, daggers, hammers, _sporks_ – which Sasha would _love. _Sporks _were_ her weapon of choice...

It... Was Johnny's whole arsenal! Even the smiley-face knives! The only difference that I could find was that _these_ all looked clean... But rather dusty... Either from disuse, or because they had never _been_ used...

I stared at all the weapons lining the walls, even spotting a box marked 'nails' that I recognized. I gulped a little. This was all _too_ weird. Where was Johnny? Was Squee living next door yet? Imagine if-

My thought cut itself off as I forced myself to slowly back out of the room. I closed the door and simply stared at it for a moment, trying to process what I had seen... Which made me think a little.

"Well... That was sketchy to the _max..."_ I murmured after a while.

Either Johnny hadn't been here for a _long_ time, or he hadn't even arrived yet... I shook my head to clear it, deciding not to dwell upon it, and looked at the other door. If the last one had led to a room, then, according to what I'd seen outside the home, _this_ one...

Grinning, I opened the door and stepped out and into the light-filled roof, or rather, the UFO landing pad, if my memory served me right, and it usually does.

"Sweet!" I cheered aloud, quickly moving to the edge. A soft breeze blew my hair back slightly, a refreshing change from the stuffiness I'd been experiencing earlier. "Roof top patio! _Woot!_" I shouted, imagining a few tables and chairs up here as I pumped my fists into the air, startled birds flying up from the neighborhood trees thanks to my loud shout.

I blushed, and glanced around nervously. _'I hope no one heard that...'_ I thought, blinking as I glanced back to the front yard. I tucked my hands behind my back, staring out over the city with a grin on my face. I could almost see onto the very center of the skyscrapers, and I had a pretty good view of the surrounding area. And...

I felt _soooo _tall!

I could see a park, Hurt park, was it called...? A ton of skyscrapers... A Bloaty's Pizza Hog... A Crazy Taco... A weird green house with lawn gnomes... The 'Skool'...

I did a double-take.

Weird green house with lawn gnomes? _Zim!_

I immediately grinned a little more.

That was something the Dib-beast would say...

...

Okay, now _that_ was something Zim would say...

I am _so_ weird... I need to get my _head_ checked or something...

Then again, most characters in this world were morons, _soooo..._

_Anyway_, Johnny's house appeared to be on a large hill, – not large as in tall, but large as in wide – so we actually got a pretty good view of the main 'setting' the IZ Characters lived in. A few streets down from Zim's 'house', I spotted an electric 'fence' clad home painted a light grayish blue – Dib's house!

My grin only widened. Wow! Who would've thought that the first abandoned house we found would be so close to... Everything!

… Actually, _me_.

…

I mean, it's kinda obvious that that's how the whole thing would work. That's how it _always_ seemed to happen in these kinds of stories anyway...

I turned around and went to the other side of the roof and looked down. I blinked in surprise. There was a largish backyard surrounded by a white picket fence, which had bare patches of dirt just ready for some plants, _right_ below me was the cement patio with a large slidning glass door – did I forget to mention that I saw it in the kitchin? I did? Sorry – and in front of _that_ was a... _Pool!_ _Sweeeeeeet!_ Wait until Sasha found out! It was just what she'd wanted!

I rushed downstairs in a matter of seconds – thanks to the magic powers of CARTOONS! – to tell my friend. But when I got to the room we'd left our bags in...

She wasn't there.

"Sasha?" I called, blinking. There wasn't a lot of places she could have gone... Even when you were _her._..

"Over here!" I heard her call, and turned around to see her dragging... What looked like a couch with a TV set on it up some _very_ steep and sinister looking stairs on the other side of the room. She gave me a strained smile as she got the furniture up and onto the floor. "Look what I found!" She cried, ecstatic.

I rushed over to her side, and helped her drag the couch closer to the middle of the room, albeit with a bit of strained grunting. "You could have asked for some help!" I snapped as we let go of the brownish worn lump. I was annoyed that she _hadn't_ asked for help... I would _not_ have been happy if she got hurt... I frowned at her in disapproval, just to let her know.

"Yeah... But you were upstairs and I got bored after hanging the curtains..." I noticed with a shock that the boards on the windows were gone, replaced with white, neat-looking curtains... Which were pretty cute, actually. "So I went down into the basement to, you know, look around – it's CRAZY big down there! Also, there wasn't anything _bad_ down there, don't worry – and I found... Stuff!" She grinned at me.

Oh yes, I loved 'stuff'. Because I knew _exactly_ what she meant by 'Stuff'.

*Sigh...* Oh, well...

I grinned, lifting the old-fashioned TV up and off of the couch with a grunt. I stumbled over to the wall before I dropped it – not really, it's just an expression – by an old green, and slimy looking, outlet set in the wall. "Yeah, well... At least we got a TV!" I said, crouching down to carefully plug the cord into the slimy outlet. I stood up straight, turning to see that Sasha had pushed the couch a little closer to the TV and then and then had promptly crashed on it. She stared at me expectantly.

"So, what now?" She asked.

I pursed my lips, something I seemed to be doing a lot of lately. I hope that it wasn't going to become a trademark or something...

"Well... Do you want to clean up the house before we do anything else?" I asked. "A clean home _is_ a happy home!" I grinned, and took off my Gir costume, tossing it over the TV because I was too lazy to put it somewhere proper.

Sasha groaned a little, but got up off of the couch. _"Fiiiiinnnnneeeee._.. Ya neat-freak!" She moaned. (I was NOT a neat-freak!) "I think I saw some feather dusters when I was in the basement..." She said, crossing her arms. "But your doing most of the work, you know..." She added, an evil gleam in her eyes.

I sighed. "Of _course_ I am..." I muttered.

* * *

><p>…<p>

_'Woke up... This moooorning...'_

I groaned a little and turned over, my eyes shutting tighter in defiance.

_'The light came in just right with the raaaaain...'_

"Shut up..." I moaned.

"It's not _me!_" Another voice snapped, and my own eyes snapped open as I jumped in surprise.

Sasha and I were curled up on either end of the couch, wrapped up all warm and snug in our sleeping bags since the, or rather _our,_ house was rather cold. We'd been cleaning nonstop for _hours_ and had finally collapsed around two AM or so, too tired to go to our new rooms.

Guh... We were exhausted, but at least the house was clean. Clean and germ free... Or, as a certain green alien-boy would say...

Lemony fresh victory was _**ours!**_

*Snicker.* Anyway, we had dusted and vacuumed and scrubbed until the place shone... Figuratively of course. To our surprise – not – we discovered that, despite the "ABANDONED" sign nailed into the front lawn – which we had removed, duh – the place still had electricity... Which was a plus.

Honestly, this world had a ridiculous amount of serendipity.

For those of you who _don't_ watch 'Phineas and Ferb', that means luck.

"Then where the _heck_ is that music coming from...?" I mumbled, sitting up and looking around, the sleeping bag slipping down to my hips and my hair a disorderly mess. I somewhat recognized the song... But where had I heard it before?

The lump of cloth and limbs that was my friend just grunted at me, shifting slightly as she hunkered into a fetal position, refusing reality... Something I wish I had the luxury of doing.

Alas, I was the slightly more _sane_ and _reasonable_ one in our duo...

Darn.

I blinked a little, waiting for my foggy brain to catch up with me. I yawned, listening to the girl singing the song sing something along the lines of; _'Thunder in the distance...'_ When my brain got slapped in the face and woke up.

"My _phone!_" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Sasha just groaned a little as I scrambled to get out of my sleeping bag. I, of _course_, fell onto the floor, my head hitting the ground with a painful thud. "Dang it!" I muttered, flailing until I got our of the bag.

I stood up, looking around frantically as the pain faded away at a rate that was a little quicker than normal...

Then again, I had other things on my mind, things that were more important than pain.

"Where's my bag!" I yelped.

Sasha groaned again and shifted a little. "Kitchen table..." She muttered.

Within seconds, I was in the kitchen and at the rounded table, digging through my backpack. The song was just ending when I pulled my (Gir) green cellphone out of my bag and checked the screen. I groaned as soon as I read it, and pressed the red 'End Call' button.

I dejectedly turned my hand over and dropped the phone back into my bag and slowly trudged back into the living room. Lacking the energy, or will, to do anything else, I simply collapsed onto the couch, my head resting on the seat while the rest of me just splayed itself out over the ground.

"Who was it?" Sasha mumbled, finally emerging from her sleeping bag cocoon. She blinked at me sleepily, resembling an owl. We'd both forgotten to take off our glasses... _Could_ they even come off? … Wait, yes they could, if I could push them up, then I could remove them... Right? Well... Hopefully.

I groaned. "No one..." I muttered, turning my head ever so slightly so that she could understand my muffled gloominess. "It was my _Bloody alarm_..."

Sasha let out a heart-stabbing wail and pulled the sleeping bag back over her face. "What time is it, then!" She squeaked.

"Five. In. The. Morning..." I muttered darkly, deciding that I hated myself for setting my alarm so early and forgetting to turn it off for summer. Curse me... CURSE _MEEEEEE!_

We both groaned loudly in union and just as we ran out of breath to complain with, there was a loud angry rumble of thunder and lightning lit up the room through the drawn curtains. We each took deep breaths and groaned again.

"_And_ it's raining." I added morbidly.

Another unioned groan.

"I hate my life..."

"Me, too."

…

Miraculously, after about an half an hour of complaining in the dark, I managed to drag myself back up and onto the couch and we fell back asleep. When we woke back up, however, it was still raining cats and dogs... Figuratively.

…

Someone kicked at my legs, waking me up. I groaned and sent a glare Sasha's way. "What?"

"Is it still raining?" She asked, her voice muffled by the sleeping bag, which covered her face.

Reluctantly, I sat up and looked at the nearest window, which was right above the TV... And covered by curtains. "Can't tell." I yawned.

Sasha kicked my leg again. "So go _check!_" She ordered.

Swearing to high heaven in my head while simply grunting aloud, I unzipped my warm sleeping bag and trudged over to the window. Reluctantly, I pulled the curtains open and peered out at the front lawn. Raindrops stained the window while drowning everything else in the world.

"It's _still_ raining." I said just as the sky lit up with lightning and thunder growled at me like some sort of demented sky-wolf... Or something. *Yawn* I was too tired for good analogies.

"So, what time is it?" Sasha asked, peaking out of her sleeping bag.

I shrugged, and grabbed the remote off of a small coffee table we'd set in between the TV and couch. "I donno." I said, and turned the TV on.

A small star-shaped flash appeared in the dark black of the screen and it soon expanded into an image of a gray-haired man in a blue suit. "-and if your _just_ tuning in, this is the 9 o' clock news! Where we give you the most useless facts first, like for instance, if you run a lot, then you'll _sweat_, or; koala bears are _cute!_"

"Well... He's annoying." Sasha commented as the newsman went on and on about hair care products that made your hair turn green when they were supposed to... Idiot.

I shrugged, siting down on the couch as my friend sat up. "At least we know that it's around nine..." I mumbled.

The newsman-beast (Because that was what he was, evil thing) went on for maybe half an hour until he _actually_ said something _useful,_ and by then, Sasha and I had just about been reduced to drooling zombies. It was a wonder that we hadn't started lurching around, moaning for brains and biting people...

Then again, we did that already...

"Anyway!" The news-beast said after what felt like an _eternity_ of boring. "The rain _should_ be letting up around, oh, I don't know, four or five o' clock, and by then-"

"There!" I shouted, jumping up as I tuned out the rest of the man's speech. "_Finally!_ Something _useful!"_

Sasha blinked, coming out of the boring fog her mind had been placed in because of the _horrible_ newsman-beast. Honestly, they should just fire the guy. "Why's that useful?" She asked, tipping her head in confusion.

I crossed my arms as I turned in her direction, raising an eyebrow at her in a 'really?' fashion. "Well, if we're going to be _living here_, then we have to go get ourselves _jobs._" Sasha gasped in horror, eyes widening as she clutched at her chest. I simply ignored her drama and continued. "_And_, not to mention, we have to sign up for 'Skool'."

"But I don't _wanna _go back to _schoooolllll!_" Sasha cried, sounding like, well, like she was crying. "And we _just_ got out of school... And I don't wanna _joooobbb!_ And I'm _tiiiiirrrrrreeeeed!_"

I just rolled my eyes. "Come on, _Zim and Dib_ are at Skool." I coaxed.

"_Yeah_, but we're _teenagers!_ We won't even be in the same classes as them!" Sasha argued, kicking off her sleeping bag and crossing her arms in frustration, pouting.

"...If ya haven't already noticed, Sasha," I deadpanned. "We _do_ look like _twelve-year-olds!_"

Sasha glared at me, something that was pretty scary if you had Dib-like glasses and as happy an attitude – _most_ of the time – as her. "How are we gonna get jobs, though?" She demanded. "We, like you just said, look like _kids!_"

"Yes." I agreed. "So we'll just tell the school – er... 'Skool', that we're 12, _if_ they ask. If they _don't._.." I shrugged, leaving that at that. "And then we'll tell the store owner our _real_ age, and just say that we've got some rare genetic disorder that makes us so short!"

After a moment, the smile returned to my friend's face, lighting it up. "Well, that _does_ make sense..." She mused.

I pumped my fist int the air. "YES!" I shouted. "She agrees with me for once!" It was a miracle!

"Don't get used to it..." Sasha yawned, standing back up.

I wilted a little. "Aw man... Why no – HEY!" I suddenly shouted, interrupting myself. I looked down at my arm, or more specifically, my wrist, where a slightly dirty white watch sat. "My WATCH! _Cooool!"_

Sasha blinked. "How did you _not_ notice that?" She asked, scratching the back of her head slightly as she tipped it.

I shrugged. "I'm not a morning person, plus, it's, according to my watch..." I glanced at said watch, and my eyes widened in shock. "Hey! It's Thursday!" I yelped.

"What?" Sasha demanded, grabbing my arm suddenly, and jerking it towards her. Of course, she made me stumble forward, almost falling flat on my face. I sent a glare at her as she stared with wide eyes at my time-telling device. "Holy crab!" She cried, then blinked as I jerked my hand out of her grasp, starting to rub at it sourly. "But it was _Saturday!_" She complained. "How'd it skip back to Thursday? Or... Forward?" She gave me a confused look.

I held up my hands, as if to fend off her words. "Don't look at _me. I'm_ not going to be the one to point out Jhonen's freaky logic and cause all of reality to crumble!"

Sasha stared at me a moment, looking slightly shocked. Then, her eyes narrowed and a grin spread it's way over her face. An evil grin.

_ "Hey..."_ She started.

I pointed accusingly – not to mention dramatically – at her. "Neither shall _you!_" I shouted, using my Dramatic Finger Pointing SKILLS.

Sasha frowned, crossing her arms as she pouted. "No fair..." She muttered.

I grinned at her. "So! Shall we shower?" I suggested.

"I _guess_..." She muttered, and kicked at the ground in frustration. She was very Gaz-like sometimes... So was I... _Sometimes..._

I rolled my eyes, heading to the kitchen. "Come on, you don't want all of Zim's comments about all humans being; "_Ffffffiiiilthy_ stink-beasts!" to be true, do you?"

Sasha shrugged, following me into the kitchen. "I couldn't care _less_ about what he calls us. He's _Zim._" She said as we started scrounging around in our bigger-on-the-inside bags.

I laughed, eying a scrunchie my mom had snuck into my bag in the hopes that I might wear my hair up. "I know right?" I said, tossing the scrunchie back into my bag. Like _heck_ I'd wear my hair _up_.

Wearing it down made me look spooky!

We both lapsed into silence after that, digging through our bags for our outfits for the day. After a while of digging, we both noticed something rather peculiar...

"What the _H!_" I yelled, holding my shirt and pants in one clenched fist that I shook at the sky angrily. "All of these Bloody outfits are the _same!_" Not to mention none of them were the ones I had even _packed!_

It was true. All my shirts were the same, so were my shoes... And pants... Glancing over at my friend and seeing her bewildered and sour expression, I guessed that the same thing had happened to her. After a moment or two of me clutching my clothes in front of me, shaking in anger, and Sasha just staring at the clothes she had in her hand in shock, she shrugged.

"Well, what did you expect?" She asked. "All of the _main_ character's clothes are the same every day... Why should _we_ be any different?"

I wilted a little. "_Fiiinnnneee..._ Whatever..." I muttered, already mourning the loss of my 'Annoying Orange' t-shirt. "Let's just get clean and get some jobs or something..."

As Sasha started to dramatically cry; _"Noooooooooooooo!"_ I sighed, knowing, with all my heart, that we were doomed... Or at the least, the main characters of Invader Zim were...

Either way, when this was all over...

There wouldn't be a single shred of sanity left in _this_ world...

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed! But now, you must excuse me, for I am in terrible pain... And we're having fish tacos!<p> 


	4. JOBS! NOOOOOO! Oh wait, that's good!

**A/N:**

As always, thanks a million to all my faithful reviewers:

**IceLuxray:**

Yes, yes it DOES suck being hurt... But hopefully I'll be able to walk by the end of the week...

Don't you DARE make reality crumble! I need it! It's got all meh stuff in it! D:

Lol...

**Darkinvader897:**

Wow, first time in a story, eh? Cool, glad I made it special. I LOVED your story by the way~!

**Invader Viceroy:**

LOOK! MOR!

**Ta1ia:**

Glad you find it... Amuuusssing... Hehe he he ha ha ha HA HA HA HAH- *Cough* *Hack* Guh... Dang, over did it again... (I actually did that out loud, had no idea how to spell it otherwise)

SQUIRT GUN you say? Hmm, I DID have an idea similar to that... But you'll have to wait and see what it is! MUA-HA-HA-*Hack!*

**Gir'sdoomsongofdoom:**

Aww, glad you like it... HERE! MOOOOORRREEE! Ha!

Ahem, as always, I only own Cassy and have partial ownership of Sasha, only slightly partial at that, soo... Yeah...

(Dang, I really should put up their profile images... Remind me to do that and put up the link, will ya?)

* * *

><p>…<p>

Two hours later, we had showered, put on our new trademark clothes, put the rest of our clothes in the rooms we had chosen – mine was a light blue scheme, Sasha's a dark purple – eaten the last of the candy – _probably_ not a good idea on our part – and now, we were both huddled under a single, large and black, umbrella that we'd found in the basement – which was HUGE (I'm talking about the basement AND the umbrella, here) – and were trying as hard as we could _not_ to get wet... While, at the same time, we were both on – a slightly moody – sugar-high.

This day, to say the least, was going to be a _bit_ random... Or not. It was hard to tell sometimes...

Meh.

We were dressed in our new clothes, since our last outfits were so insanity inducing. I'd hidden them in, what I'd decided to call; the Weapons Room. To which I had the _only_ key 'cuz, come on, would _you_ trust Sasha if you knew her as well as _I_ do?

No. No you would _not_.

Not. At. All.

Not even with a piece of flipping _lint._

Sasha's new outfit consisted of a purple shirt with black sleeves, blue jeans, black boots that were _very_ Zim-like, and a black plastic head-band. She looked very nice in that simple combination of cloths.

My outfit, on the other hand, was a little more complicated, for some inexplicable reason, which I didn't really like.

Well, I _liked _it, but I _didn't _like it when my clothes attracted attention, it made me feel awkward and shy...

Bleh, whatever, I was too moody to rant about it to Sash, and she was too moody to listen.

A (TARDIS) blue t-shirt with a red fez printed on the chest. The words; "Are Cool' with 'Cool' being underlined were printed in white underneath it in white. My pants were jeans that were a light blue and were slightly faded and bleached looking. The knees were worn and had scuffs on them, looking like they were ready to tear. My shoes were black with white soles and toe-tips. I'd also managed to replace my Gir-earrings with a pair of black spheres I'd found.

To put it mildly, we both looked _cooooool!_

The atmosphere this morning was however, simply, awful, and it was obvious in my friend and mine's attitudes.

"I _hate_ rain!" Sasha complained loudly as we maneuvered around a particularly _evil_ looking puddle. I _swear_ it growled at me. "I can understand why Zim hates it so much..." She added.

The day was misty and gray and just flat out _wet._ But... At least it had that nice freshly turned wet dirt smell. I liked that smell... _Wonder if they make an air freshener for it?_ I wondered, staring up at the gray cloud covered sky. "Other than, you know, the whole; 'water is acid to Irkens and could kill them' thing..." I said, breaking from my musings.

"Mm-hmm..." Sasha agreed, nodding sagely.

We made our way deeper into the city, quietly muttering to ourselves about _just_ how stupid rain was, and how it was probably something some evil wizard conjured hundreds of years ago just to tick people off, primarily, _us_.

We must've done something absolutely _terrible_ in a past life or something...

It goes without saying that we got some weird looks from other people out in the rain... Who were weird enough themselves...

We really didn't care though...

"We should find a way to kill rain..." I muttered sourly.

"Or at least we could sue the sky..." Sasha put in. She'd long since let go of the umbrella, leaving _me_ to hold it all by myself... Jerk.

"Yeah, sue those demon Sky-Spirits for all they have." I growled sourly, my bangs making my face become half-hooded in shadow. We both paused in our walking, looked at each other, then promptly burst out laughing.

"_Ah-_ha-ha-ha-ha-_haaaaa! _W-We are _so_ weird!" Sasha cackled.

"Yeah..." I agreed, nearly choking on air. We both simultaneously took a VERY deep breath, before we released it with a sigh, and continued walking. "...Okay." I said after a while. "Keep your eyes peeled for 'Help Wanted' signs." I ordered.

"Not literally I hope..." Said Sasha.

"No... _Definately_ not literally. That would just be stu-"

_"There!"_ Sasha cut me off, pointing at something across the street from us. I peered through the rain and squinted at the building she was pointing at. It was a huge looking store called _'Books-A-Plenty'_, a library look-a-like, really_._

I glanced at the front of the store, where there was, lo and behold, a 'Help Wanted' sign hanging in the large glass window that displayed the very library-like store. Taped onto the glass next to it was a sheet of paper. I was able to make out the words; 'Two positions open' scrawled on it through the rain.

"Somehow I knew that would happen..." I whispered, a grin spreading its way over my face as I felt an odd tingling sensation in the back of my head.

"What?" Sasha asked, tipping her head at me.

I casually waved her – not to mention the feeling – off. "Nothing... Lets just go." I said, dodging the subject. I didn't have the right words to explain it, anyway. I just... I just _knew!_

We looked around for a moment, before we quickly ran across the street, almost being squashed by some old fat man driving a golf cart that appeared out of _nowhere._ Might I add that the old man yelled at us and told _us_ to pay attention to where _we_ were going!

_"Oi!"_ I shouted after the beeping vehicle, shaking an angry fist at the driver as I lapsed into my British accent; as I always did when I was angry or ticked off. "Watch where yer goin' ya Bloody old _turd!_" I shouted as the cart disappeared and Sasha gave me a look. "What?" I snapped, glaring at her.

She giggled. "... Turd..." She snickered. "It sounds funny in British..."

I face-palmed with a loud sigh, and walked to the front of the store, stopping under a tent-like overhang for a moment. "Whatever..." I muttered to my still giggling friend as I collapsed the umbrella. I shook the water off of it before tucking it under my arm. I gestured at the door. _"Allons-y?"_

Sasha rolled her eyes at me. "Might as well..." She sighed, and we entered.

The first thing I noticed about the store; it smelled like chocolate chip cookies! Oh, and books... Nothing like the classic smell of words printed on paper... Ahh, good smells; books and cookies...

The place really _was_ set up like a library, too! There was an area in front of the window that was slightly enclosed by bookshelves. There was a worn red – circular – rug set in the middle of the area, too. Why they needed a rug in a place that was already carpeted was beyond me, but it was nice anyway. Chairs and bean-bags were scattered around the cubicle area, making it seem rather cozy.

The store was, surprisingly, empty, and rather large, _huge_ actually. The walls were covered in selves which were covered in books, and the back of the store was filled with rows and rows of shelves. Not all the books were new, either. Some appeared to be old and used looking, some even appeared to be written in different languages. Straight in front of us, hanging from the ceiling, was a sign that read;

"Books-A-Plenty, where _you_ have the option of buying, _or_ renting _your_ favorite books! Have fun!"

I almost fell to my knees and cried tears of joy at the sight of it all.

"I... I'm in _heaven!_" I gasped, looking around in wonder, dropping the umbrella against the wall next to the door.

Sasha laughed. "Of _course_ you are." She said with a sarcastic eye-roll. "Trust _you_ to get teleported into Invader Zim Land with me and fangirl over a _book store_ instead..." She muttered quietly.

I pointed dramatically at her, my eye twitching. "Don't you ruin this for me!" I shouted. "This is a _magical_ place..." I continued, my voice now dreamy as I swooned over the all the wonderful _books._

Sasha just stared at me. She was a fan of books herself, but not as insanely as I was...

"Well, I wouldn't call it _magical_..." A voice twinged with sarcasm laughed.

Sasha and I glanced to our left to see a young woman entering the room via a door set behind a dark wooden desk. She was tall and stringy looking with light blond hair that fell past her shoulders in wavy locks that framed her brown eyes. She was wearing a tanish t-shirt with dark brown moose tracks splayed across the chest, and cream-colored skinny jeans. She had a typical 'teenager' feel about her, yet she had largish glasses falling down her nose and about a bazillion books in her arms.

OMD, I really wanted to use her in a story already...

Yeah, that's right, I use real people I see as characters sometimes... Whatev.

"Uh... Hi!" I said as, I assumed, the store's owner set the books down on the desk – which appeared to be some kind of check out – with a grunt.

The girl brushed some of her hair back with a sigh, leaning against the counter slightly. She was surprisingly young looking, maybe 20? "Hello, welcome to Books-A-Plenty, how may I help you?" She said cheerfully, yet with an underlying tiredness. There was a note of repetitiveness in her voice, as if she was simply repeating a recording that someone had downloaded into her.

"Uh, I, er, what I mean to say is..." I stuttered.

You wouldn't have guessed it, but I am _extremely_ shy about meeting/talking to strangers, especially adult strangers! I just wasn't very good at it... But _after_ I'd met a new adult, I'd be slightly better at it for the next month or so...

Yeah, yeah, I know... I'm _weird_...

"We're here for jobs!" Sasha almost shouted. I let out a silent sigh of relief, glad that my friend had – albeit a bit rudely – saved me.

The maybe-store-owner-woman raised an eyebrow at us. "You look a little young to be wanting jobs..." She said skeptically. She wasn't trying to be mean, as far as I could tell, but her voice came out a little accusatory.

"Yes... Yes we do." I deadpanned, and next to me, Sasha giggled. **(A/N: Phineas and Ferb reference alert! Whoo!)**

The maybe-store-owner blinked, obviously not getting it. "O... Kay?" She said slowly. She shook her head to clear it, and grabbed a few sheets of paper and a pencil from under the desk. She set them on the counter and gently pushed them towards us. "Here, fill these out and I'll give them to my step-dad; Mr. Berg. Sorry about there being only one pencil..." She said as Sasha and I stepped up to the counter, both of us shocked that we'd gotten this far without anything blowing up. It was a miracle...

"No problem!" I said as Sasha snatched up the pencil and started filling out the sheet, ignoring the fact that _I_ might have wanted to go first. I reached into my right pocket and pulled out a mechanical pencil.

Sasha noticed me do this, and rolled her eyes. "Even _here_ you OCD..." She muttered quietly.

I stuck my tongue out at her as I started filling out the reference sheet. The woman gave us both a confused look, so I decided to explain, feeling sorry for her. "She's saying that because I usually stuff twenty or so pencils into my pocket, even though I only need one, most of the time." I said. I dropped my pencil and stuck out my hand. "I'm Casey, by the way." I said with a smile. "You can call me Cas if you want."

The young woman, who's step dad – I was guessing – was the store owner, smiled too and took my hand. "I'm Maria." She said, shaking my hand.

I found a smile spreading over my face. Maria... I liked that name, for reasons of my own.

Before I could comment, however, Sasha stuck out her own hand. "I'm Sasha, but you can call me Sash if ya want!" She said, excited. _"Hi!"_

Maria laughed, and shook her hand too. "Nice to meet you." She said as they released hands. Sasha and I went back to filling out the questionnaire. After a few minutes of silence, Maria spoke up again. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you two?" She asked, leaning forward over the counter in a very nonchalant manor.

"I'm fourteen." I said, turning the page over to fill out the back of the paper and speaking distractedly, letting my brain off of it's leash. "Old enough to go to jail for blowing something up... On accident!" I quickly added, snapping out of it.

"I'm fourteen_ish._" Sasha said, making me laugh.

Maria gave us yet another confused look. "But... Sorry in advance, but your so _short!_ Why is that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sasha sent me an alarmed look, as if mentally saying 'WHAT-THE-H-DO-WE-DO-NOW-YOU-IDIOT!' I didn't share her worry, because my _amazing_ brain had _already_ came up with a _brilliant_ lie.

Oh yeah, I'm just awesome like that.

"Oh..." I said, waving a hand flippantly. "We have a disorder; HASD. It's nothing really..."

"HASD?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, it stands for Height And Scale Disorder..." I said. "It's really rare."

Maria blinked. "Oh! No wonder, I've certainly never heard of it." She said with a laugh. I had the vague feeling that Maria wasn't all together the smartest person around... But she was nice, so it really didn't matter.

"Here!" Sasha and I chimed in union not a minute later. We held out the papers towards Maria, who took them with a smile.

"Thanks, I'll go to the back room right now and give them to my ste- er.. Mr. Berg." She said, and disappeared into the room behind the counter. "Feel free to have a look around!" She called.

When she was, presumably, out of hearing distance, Sasha turned to me, and amused look on her face. "HASD?" She asked, suppressing a laugh.

I shrugged indifferently, masking my pride with a bored look. "It was all I could think of." I said, slowly making my way over to the nearest wall covered in books. Sasha followed with a grin on her face, jerk... How DARE she not appreciate my BRILLIANCE!

A lot of the books here actually looked pretty good... I even spotted a few familiar titles, to my surprise. It seemed like this dimension had some similarities to ours... Like, alternate versions of real author people, or just people in general...

Cool.

"Hey!" I said excitedly, pointing at a slightly used looking book. _"'The Otherworldlies!'_ I loved that book!"

Sasha grinned and pointed at a nearby black book. "There's _your_ favorite book right there." She said rather mockingly. I looked at the book she was pointing at and casually punched her shoulder as hard as I could. _"Ow!"_ She yelled.

I glared at her – which I knew was rather scary looking because I'd been making faces in the mirrors this morning (Shut UUUUP!) – my eye twitching. "Do not mock me." I muttered darkly as Sasha started rubbing her pained shoulder. "I am _not_ a rabid screaming _Twilight _fangirl and you know it!"

Sasha gave me a cheeky grin, raising an eyebrow. "Then why did you _buy_ the whole series?" She teased as we started making our way down the wall.

"I bought the _series_ because they were, and _are_ good, well written books. _However_, I have not bought the _movies_ because I think that they are over-" I started, walking forward again.

Sasha's shrill scream interrupted anything else I would have said. I whipped around to see that she was on her knees, staring at a shelf near the floor in awe. "No way!" She squeaked, a grin spreading over her face.

"What?" I demanded, rushing to her side and crouching down to see what my friend was freaking out over. When I saw, I gasped and fell backwards into a sitting position on the floor. Sasha and I locked gazes.

_**"Warriors!"**_ We squealed in union before we started grabbing random books off the shelves. We started paging through them, squealing even more as we realized that these were all the right books after all.

"OMD, I can't _believe_ this!" I said, my voice holding uncharacteristic high-pitchedness to it.

I couldn't help it! This was _Warriors!_ The series that had gotten me into _reading!_ Without this series, a lot of thing wouldn't be the same in my life. For instance, I wouldn't want to be a writer! _OR_ an artist! Sasha just loved the series because it was good and involved animals, but still...

"Look!" Sasha cried, pointing at another shelf... Full of Warriors books that I'd never even _seen_ before! "_Look!_" She repeated.

"I know!" I squealed.

"Hey, is everything alright back there?" A voice suddenly asked, and we glanced up to see a tall – albeit slightly overweight – man standing at the end of the row, staring at down us. (Curse our Invader Zimm-y shortness!)

He had a light blue button up shirt stained with blotches of coffee. The man looked mad and somewhat spiteful. He reminded me of a pit bull...

I stood up, handing the book I had in my hand to Sasha, who put it back in it's place. "Hello!" I greeted politely, walking towards the man. Sasha quickly stood up and followed almost directly behind me, peering fearfully at the man whom I assumed was Mr. Berg. She shot me a look that meant something like; _'Is he a demon?'_ and I shook my head ever so slightly, even though I wasn't very sure myself...

We reached the man, who I noticed had a coffee cup in one hand and a white mustache that was slightly tinted brown from the coffee, which contrasted _hugely_ with his bald head. I stuck out my hand, for once being brave, and gave my most winning smile.

What? I _need _a job!

"I'm Casey and this is Sasha, your Mr. Berg, right?" I said in my most pleasant _'please-hire-me-I'm-poor'_ voice.

Once again; I NEED a JOB!

'Mr. Berg' grunted, ignoring my hand. He took a large slug of his coffee, splashing more of it onto his shirt. "So you two want a job, eh?" He grunted.

My hand fell back down to my side, and I willed my fists not to clench. I put on my most _'I'm-SUPER-happy-and-not-at-ALL-offended-by-you!'_ grin as Sasha stepped out from behind me, looking as put-off as I felt at the moment. "Yes, sir!" I chirruped.

Mr. Berg grunted. "Are you two in Skool, then?" He asked, raising an eyebrow over one beady eye.

"Well, sir." I said. "We were planning on registering at the local school right after this because we just moved here an-"

Mr. Berg held up a hand and cut me off. "Look. Kid, I don't need your life story." He grunted as I snapped my lips together to keep myself from saying anything I might regret. Mr. Berg drank some more of his coffee. "When does your Skool day end?" He demanded.

I took a deep breath. "Well, _sir,_ I'd expect that it ends around three." I managed to choke out despite my obvious disgust.

Mr. Berg didn't seem to notice the mocking way I'd said 'sir' and nodded, drinking more of his coffee. "Hm... Well, in that case, be here by three thirty or so on weekdays. Weekends you get off... Your shifts will be over by five thirty... Minimum wage... Oh, and if you're late without a legitimate reason, I'll fire you!"

I blinked, and Sasha _finally_ spoke up. "So, wait, we got the jobs?" She asked, sounding as shocked as I was, and believe me, I was VERY shocked. That... That was actually rather fair.

Couldn't this man see how obviously INSANE we were! Seriously! Come on, man! Run while your legs are still on where your legs are supposed to be and not shoved up your armpits! Go, go _GO!_

I may not have liked him much, but that didn't mean I wanted to KILL him!

"Mm hmm..." Mr. Berg grunted, again – that seemed to be the only way he could talk – unaware of my inner turmoil. "You start Monday, so don't be late!" And with that, he stalked back to the counter, past Maria, who was wearing a _very_ forced looking smile, and into the 'back room', slamming the door shut behind him.

Maria instantly relaxed and made her way around the desk and over to us. "I should have warned you..." She apologized, looking down at us since we were so short. "My step-dad's sort've a downer... But on the bright side, he's only here Thursdays and he usually just stays in back!" She smiled.

Sasha and I smiled too, instantly brightened by Maria. I, of course, expected that, once again, for reasons of my own. "Oh, it's okay." I said with a shrug, forcing my anger away. "He's not the worst person I've been in the presence of." Which was true... Sadly... Stupid real-world people!

"Well, that's good." Maria sighed. "Anyway, my shift ends right before yours, so I'll give you a few pointers. First, and most obvious, don't tick the boss off unless you want to be fired. Second, the store opens at seven thirty and closes at five thirty, so you'll be in charge of closing up. Third, the store's mostly busy in the mornings, and only a little in the afternoon. Usually, when there's no customers, I just read over in the reading area or slack off... Sometimes I just go in back and watch TV!" Maria smiled, laughing slightly.

Maria, I realized, was really real-world cool...

Ooooh... That sounded _neat..._ I'm gonna have to remember to use that one... Gosh, I was just coming up with _tons_ of brilliant sayings in this world! I LOVED it here!

Sasha and I smiled as well. "Cool!" Sasha said. She looked at me, suddenly looking confused. "What's minimum wage again?" She asked.

"Like, $7.50 or something..." I said with a frown, looking at Maria. "Right?"

Maria nodded and started back towards the counter. "Yup... Why don't you look around a little bit before you go?" She suggested over her shoulder, going back to sit on a stool set behind the desk.

I grinned at Sasha and she grinned back. We turned back to our previous spots, grabbing more Warriors books to look at and swoon over. We didn't have enough money to buy anything... But we would soon... So, we, for the next 50 minutes or so, looked around the store for books we may or may not want. We hadn't even gotten to the second aisle when I glanced at my watch and saw that it was, like, 12:30.

"Cripes! Sash," I exclaimed, then turned to Sasha to see that she was reading the back of a book called 'Egg Whites' or something. She looked up at the sound of my voice as I continued. "Gotta go." I said.

"Aww, man! Really?" Sasha complained as I stood up from my spot on the other side of the aisle. I placed my hands on my back as I stretched out my spine. "But I don't wanna _go!_" She moaned as I walked over and stopped, standing over her with my hands on my hips.

I jerked my head back and towards the front of the store. "Come on, Sash." I said. _"Allons-y."_

With an extremely overly dramatic moan, Sasha replaced the book who's back she'd been reading. She stood up, shoulders slumped. "But I don't wanna!" She repeated.

I crossed my arms, deciding that, even though I wanted to stay too, it was time to go. "Too, bad, so sad. Now, _come on,_ otherwise we won't be able to go to 'Skool'."

That got her going.

"I'm going, _I'm_ going!" Sasha yelped, starting to speed walk towards the entrance. She glanced back at me. "Well? Come on! Don't wanna be late!" She called back at me.

I laughed, and followed at a little slower pace. Oh, Sash...

"_Now_ you run." I murmured before glancing at Maria. The young woman was sitting on a stool behind the counter, her head in one hand and her elbow on the table as she read a book. "Bye, Maria!" I called out friendlily, grabbing my umbrella from the spot I'd dropped it at.

Maria glanced up in surprise, blinking a few times before a grin appeared. "Bye, guys!" she called, waving. "See you Monday!"

"Bye!" Sasha and I said in union as we stepped outside, the door swinging shut behind us. It had stopped raining, thankfully, but gray clouds still hovered in the air menacingly, as if just _daring_ any of the planets inhabitants to get too happy.

Rather depressing, really.

We both stood still for a moment, watching the water drip off of everything. I sighed through my nose, enjoying the fresh smell the rain brought as I looked at Sasha. "Shall we go?" I offered, raising a hand coaxingly.

"I'm gonna use that seagull to _ruuuulllleee the wooooorrrllldddd..._" Sasha mused dreamily, staring off into the distance.

Taking that as a 'yes', I started walking down the sidewalk, the umbrella swinging comfortably back and forth on my arm. Sasha followed automatically, still looking thoughtful. Easily growing bored of the silence – not used to not having Sasha ramble in my ear – I started whistling 'Singing in the rain' as we walked.

A few minutes, and turns, later, I stopped whistling and looked over at Sasha. "So, what did you think of the store?" I asked.

Sasha jumped. _"Baloney!"_ She shouted. She blinked, her head snapping around to look at me. "Wait... What?" She asked. With a sigh, I repeated my question, and my friend's face lit up. "Oh, I _loved_ that place! I just can't believe we got the job! That Mr. Berg seemed like a real _jerk!_"

I snorted and we rounded yet another corner. _"Mr._ Berg? More like Mr. _Turd!_" Sasha snickered and I allowed myself to grin at my own joke. "But seriously," I continued. "I kept waiting for one of us to say something rude so that he would say _'rephrase that!'_" I said, my voice growing high and nasally.

Sasha started giggling as we crossed a street, skirting around a large puddle once on the other side and on the sidewalk.

Hmm? What was I referencing? Well, last year, in 7th grade, we had a study hall at the end of the day. Oh, I know what your thinking; _'Oh what does _that_ have to do with anything!'_

Well, if you'd _shut up,_ I'd tell you.

Instead of having our _homeroom_ teacher – a wonderful woman whom I love and call my homeroom 'mom' – we went to some random room with some _random_ teacher supervising us.

Her name was _Mrs._ Berg.

**SFX: DUN DUN _DUUUUUN!_**

I don't know where that came from... Probably my head, but thank you mysterious **SFX** music... That really helped.

**SFX: *Triumphant trumpet music***

Once again; thank you.

Anyway...

I'll admit, I usually talked rather than _'studied'_. What can I say? I'd had some _awesome_ guy-friends – not to mention people who had been 8th graders at the time – in there with me. Anyways, our conversations would usually get loud, and sometimes a little rude, and eventually, someone would say the two magic words...

_Shut... Up._

Mrs. Berg would spring up like a wackadoodle jack-in-the-box and _immediately_ demand that we, quote; _"Rephrase that!"_

Well, being the growing-to-be immature 8th graders that we almost were, not to mention almost high-schoolers in the older kid's cases; we complied...

By saying _'Up shut!'_

*Sigh* Mrs. Berg hated us... **(A/N: And trust me, the feeling was MUTUAL! MUTUAL I SAY! **_**MUUUTTTUUUAAAALLLLL!**_**)**

Sadly, Sasha hadn't been in the same study hall as me, so she couldn't _fully_ enjoy my joke, but she laughed anyway.

What a good friend.

Mid-giggle, Sasha suddenly stopped. "Look!" She shouted, pointing at something up ahead. I broke away from my memories and looked ahead. A grin immediately spread across my face at what I saw.

"Sasha," I said as we reached the sidewalk in front of the building. "We're going back to school."

The building was just as I remembered it from the countless times I'd seen it on TV before. It was huge, made of brick, and the playground was surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Also, it seemed that the tree on the front 'lawn' had reappeared.** (A/N: Ever notice how the tree in the front of the Skool seems to disappear and reappear sometimes? It's kinda like like magic! Just like sarcasm!)**

As I stood there, my chest puffed out and my hands on my hips, I tried my hardest to look like I was full of confidence and zeal. I felt great. I felt terrific. If felt-

Of course, Sasha just _had_ to take me down a few notches.

"Well," she said. "That was cliche... And stupid." She looked at me. "_**Really**_stupid."

I wilted. "Yeah... I know it was... I know it was..." I said, hanging my head in shame.

Sasha just shrugged, grabbed my arm, and dragged me into the school... Er... 'Skool'...

This was going to be fun!

* * *

><p>AAAAAANNNNDDDDD SCENE!<p>

... X)

REVIEW! DOOOO IIIITTT! I NEEDS THE REVIEWY JUICES OF JUUUUIIIIICCCCEEEE!

(Wow, I'm hyper and I haven't even had any sugar yet... Bleh.)


	5. THAT GUM! Oh, and we're going to Skool!

**A/N:**

The JUUUUIIICCCEEE... It fills me... It is NEAT!

...

Lol, sorry guys. I'm drinking orange juice... It messes with my head.

WELL, this chapter is a little shorter than the others, sorry, and it's probably not a well written as the others (Sorry again), but I felt that I owed you guys something, especially with all of your awesome reviews! SPEAKING of reviews...

**Darkinvader897:**

Aww, Yay! I'm loved! *Hugs* Thanks a bunch for the review, glad I'm not the only one who notices those kinds of things... I swear, I'm more OCD than DIB sometimes! ^-^"'

**IceLuxray:**

Perry! And no, you have not died... I think... Meh, whatev.

Yes, Sasha SHOULD be an Invader (STOP KILLING PEOPLE! WE DO THAT ENOUGH AS IS!)

...But they Tallest would probably die of insanity, like, instantly! XD Ahh, I have such an awesome friend!

Yes, I also have noticed the flamingo and the Zim-Ice Cream... lol!

And yes, there will PROBABLY be a few P&F references... Hee...

**thedarkirken6:**

JUUUIIIICCCEEE! I WUV YOU!

~Jk, but you still rock.

**Ta1ia:**

JUICE! I'M GETTING SO MUCH OF IT! *Dumps the juice on head and it is absorbed through skin.* What? My tummy's full...

**Mystic Supernovae the Dib fan:**

More... Juice...? *Causiously takes it.* Okay... I'll take it... BUT NO MORE JUICE! NOW I DEMAND MUFFINS! EEEH-HA-HA-HA! MUFFINS OF REVIEWING MUFFINY DOOM! HAAA!

... Ahem, ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

><p>…<p>

"... So, you want to apply... To Skool?" A plump woman with frizzy gray hair asked, cracking her gum and giving off an aura of simple uninterest all at the same time. She appeared to be in her thirties and, to put it nicely, she had _not_ aged gracefully. A small name tag on her chest proudly proclaimed that her name was 'Gloria'.

Odd... There sure as _heck_ wasn't anything '_Glorious_' about _her._.. AND she sorta smelled...

"Yes, Ma'am, we would." I said from my spot in front of the bored secretary's desk. Besides me, Sasha jumped up and down, totally, and not to mention _psychotically,_ excited.

Sasha; possessing some insane other-worldly power that I have yet to even _begin_ to comprehend, had dragged me into the Skool, down the locker-filled halls, down some not-so-locker-filled-halls, and to a random door, stating that it was the office. When I'd asked her how she knew that _this_ was the Skool's office, she'd given me a creepy look and proclaimed that, quote; "The cabbages tell me _thingsss_..."

Receiving an unimpressed – and most assuredly unafraid – eye-roll from me, she'd growled in frustration, stomped her foot, and dragged me inside, with me complaining loudly that she was scratching me.

Now, we were standing in a dimly lit – dirty – room, on a dirty and bland carpet, in front of a wooden desk that housed the bored woman.

What a _wonderful_ life this was.

Yet again, the woman cracked her gum – causing me to flinch ever so slightly. She stared down at us with half-lidded eyes, her head resting on one hand. "Are you _sure_ you wanna go to school _here?_" She drawled, almost whined. No, wait, not 'almost', _did._ She whined like a... Well, not something that I'd find all together appropriate to say...

Apparently, _someone_ was determined to do everything they could to avoid doing any actual _work..._

"Yeah!" Sasha said excitedly at the same time that I replied; "Of course." quite sincerely... Which was hard because of the underlying annoyance I was feeling towards the woman.

'Gloria' let out a loud groan and stood up, her chair creaking in relief. She cast her eyes upon us, and they were now sharp with annoyance, as if blaming _us_ for all her problems...

_Well same to you, bub._ I thought, mouth twitching downwards slightly and my left eye twitching.

"Wait here..." She ordered, and stalked out of the room via a door located behind the desk.

As soon as the woman was out of the room, Sasha cast her eyes on me, looking confused but interested.

"How do you do that?" She asked as I started towards a pair of purple plastic chairs on the right side of the room, wanting to sit down. "And why?"

I blinked at her as I sat down in the purple – and not very comfortable – chair. "What do you mean?" I asked, tipping my head slightly at my friend as she joined me, taking the adjacent chair.

"That..." She seemed to almost shudder. "Creepily polite thing you keep doing!" Sasha said, giving me an unnerved look as she leaned back slightly in her chair, trying to get comfortable. "Your _never_ _that_ polite! Whenever an adult is rude to you, your usually ten times _more_ rude – not to mention _nasty_ – back! But you've been so creepily polite the whole time we've been here... What gives? I really count on that for entertainment! You _know_ I love seeing the looks on their faces!" She complained, pouting slightly.

It was true. I _was_ mean to adults when they were mean to me.

If you can't be polite to a flipping _kid, _then what sort of respect should _that_ earn you!

NONE WHAT-SO-EVER, in my opinion!

But I grinned a little bit at her. Good 'ol Sash... Always _so_ considerate...

"Don't worry," I assured. "I've only been sucking up to people lately because, A.) I wanted to get us both _jobs,_ and B.) I want to get into _this_ 'Skool'. As soon as we get in, I'll be back to my old, grumpy, moody, rude, violent self!" My eyes grew shadowed as I lowered my head slightly. _"Especially since I haven't gotten any __**orange juice**__ yet..."_ I added in a low, and I mean _low_, voice.

"Ha-Ha!" Sasha said, pointing a finger at me and imitating that one _Simpsons_ guy. When I switched my glare onto her, she retreated her finger, probably afraid that I'd bite it off or something. "Uh... Sorry." She apologized, realizing that this was a serious thing to me... And that I'd _seriously _bite off her finger if she didn't shut up.

"Meh..." I shrugged, my glare dissipating like mist – along with my anger and annoyance – as I leaned back in my chair. "Whatever," I waved a hand at her before tucking my hands behind my head. "No need to apologize." Sasha grinned at me, opening her mouth to comment, when the secretary reentered the room.

When we saw what she had in her hands, or rather, _arms,_ our jaws dropped and we both let out little squeaks of protest.

The secretary stomped over to us and dropped the two stacks of two and a half feet high paper on the ground with a **THUD!** One huge stack in front of each of us.

I _hate_ cartoon humor... It _SUCKS!_

_"Here."_ The woman grunted as we stared in shock at the stacks of paper. "This is all the information the Skool requires from you."

Sasha and I hopped out of our chairs and stared up at the woman in shock. "You _can't_ be serious!" I said, looking at the pile of wasted trees, my inner Earth-protector inflamed. Honestly, it would have been easier just to print everything _on_ the trees! Seriously, had these people never heard of _recycling!_ My _god!_ Those poor, poor, _trees!_ GOD!

"There's so much _paper!_" Sasha cried out in despair.

The woman sniggered with contempt, eyes narrowed hatefully at us, and I began to realize that Sash and I had just made our first enemy...

"Well that's what you get for applying in the middle of the year." The woman huffed. "Now, I'm gonna go take my break." And just like that, she was gone, leaving us both shocked... And with two tons of paperwork to fill out.

That evil, evil woman.

"B-But I don't _wanna_ do this!" Sasha finally choked out, falling to her knees.

I myself just sighed in defeat, grabbing the pencil that was set on top of my stack of paper, knowing that we had lost the battle... At least for NOW.

_"On n'est jamais si bien servie que par soi-meme..."_ I muttered with a shrug, secretly VERY surprised that I had remembered all that. WOW I was good today...

_ But what's with that... Weird tingling feeling?_ I wondered. It was like... An itch, on the back of my head, where my scull dipped and connected to my neck/spine. I scratched at it a little, but it was one of those itches that was too far in you that you couldn't get at it. After a second, however, it went away, and I mentally shrugged it off.

_"What?"_ Sahsa snapped, head whipping around to look at me, as I wrote my name at the top of the first piece of paper. Her expression was one of absolute shock and confusion.

"It's french." I said. "The literal meaning is: _'One is never so well served as by oneself.'_" Seeing her confused look, I continued. "The idomatic – err, _expression_, is; _'If you want something done right, do it_ _yoursef_.'"

Once again; the tickling itch... But I was probably just hungry... How that explained it, I do not know... But I really didn't care.

Sasha blinked at me. "You went on a Wikipedia binge again, didn't you?" She asked dryly, nearly deadpanned, really.

"_May~__**be**__._.."

Sasha sighed. "And _now,_ your going to be spurting random french quotes whenever the motion takes you, right?"

My grin spread. "Yes... _And_ Latin." I said.

Sasha groaned in horror, and I let out a little laugh, then, realizing that there was still this mountain of work before me, I too let out my _own _horrified groan.

Wasn't life just _peachy?_

* * *

><p>…<p>

Almost two hours. _Two hours! _Two hours of filling out sheets of paper and answering absolutely rubbish questions! _Why_ would the Skool need to know our favorite colors listed in ABC order, anyway? Seriously? WHAT. THE. H? I don't even _know _what my favorite colors even _are!_

Tis a sad fact, but a fact it is.

After almost _two hours_ of nonstop writing – done like that so that we could finish before the woman returned from her break (which lasted longer than the Bloody French Revolution!) – we did what _any_ teenager would've done: We crashed. And we crashed... Epically!

We just pretty much dead-on fainted, to say the least...

At around three 'o clock, maybe a minute or two after, the bell rang, waking us up... And none too gently might I add. Sasha and I both yelled in union, falling out of our chairs and onto the ground... Comically of course... OF COURSE! This was a _cartoon!_ The universe just HAD to mess with us, didn't it?

As we lay the ground, moaning and twitching in pain, the secretary – _lo and behold she had return-ed to us!_ – spoke up from her spot at her desk in a bored tone of voice.

"Skool day's over, kids. Unless your parents have an appointment or something, you gotta go." She said... Then cracked her gum.

My eye twitched a little. That _gum... _That_ GUM...!_

"Sure, _whatever!_" I snapped sourly, sitting up with my hand on my back (Which _hurt!_). "We'll _go._" I looked at Sasha, who was face-down on the floor after face-planting. "Come on, time to go..." I muttered, standing up and grabbing my umbrella, feeling the – starting to be familiar – weight of my backpack on my back.

Of course, Sasha just _had _to be difficult.

Sash groaned unwillingly, not moving an inch. "Mhh mh _mmhh-mh!_" She said, voice nearly silenced from the carpeting... Which was rather dirty, just like everything else in this world.

Roughly translated, I think she might have said; _"I don't wanna!"_ three words that were quickly becoming her go-to catchphrase.

I sighed.

I knew what _that_ tone of voice meant...

Things would be difficult from here on out...

Oh, _joy._

With the decision that I would most definitely _kill_ her for doing this to me later; when we got back to our home –_ where no one could hear the SCREAMS _– I tucked the umbrella hook onto my backpack strap, and grabbed the loop on the back of Sasha's own bag. With a quick tug, I flipped her onto her back, resulting in yet another groan from her as she tightly closed her eyes in defiance.

I'd been hoping that _that_ would get her up, but...

"Oh, I _hate_ you..." I muttered, not really meaning it, of course...

Okay, maybe a little.

Just a _liiiittle,_ though, a _little._ LITTLE! LITTLE I SAY!

… Ahem.

Ignoring the slightly, but only _just_, interested look the secretary was sending us, I grabbed one of Sasha's legs with one hand, and then proceeded to drag her to the door. Growling in a very Gaz-like way, although secretly feeling incredibly amused by all of this – though I'd never admit it – I kicked the door open, revealing a hallway that was quickly being drained of excited students, who were all eager to get out and into the rain that had started up again.

_Foo..._

Barely registering the rumble of thunder coming from outside, I began to drag my friend down the dirty hallway, smirking as I thought of all the crud that was getting stuck in her hair. The Skool was NOT a clean place, after all... Thank God for that, it made getting back at Sasha ten times more easy!

Needless to say, however, we – or rather, _I_ – got a _lot_ of weirded out looks from the other kids.

Most of them, thankfully, moved to the sides of the hallway as I dragged my groaning friend along. I ignored the whispers – "Who's _that?_" and "What a weirdo!" and "What is she _doing?_" being the most popular – and weird looks we were getting.

At any other time, I probably would have done something about it, maybe punched someone, but at the moment, I was _way_ too tired... My main goal was to simply get to the front doors and outside as fast as I could... And into the rain.

_Smaaaarrrrtttt _plan... _Riiight?_

I followed the stream of happy kids until, _finally_ I dragged my friend out and onto the sheltered patio/front steps. I shivered slightly at the cool wind that accompanied the rain, and stared impassively at all the children running around like monkeys as they played in the rain... They _sounded_ like monkeys, too...

I was just happy they weren't singing...

I looked back, and down, at Sasha – who was still refusing to move – and smirked. _"Sasha..."_ I said in a sing-songy voice. "You'd better get up, or something absolutely _terrible_ is going to happen to _yoooo_~_ou!"_ I practically sang, like it was the next one-hit-wonder or something.

Yeah, even _I_ creep myself out sometimes...

I'm not proud of it... Okay, maybe a little, but still... I had some issues... Issues that I was working out, but issues non-the-less...

Meh, but whatever.

My friend just groaned again, and seemed to sink into the ground a little. My smirk only grew. _Okay then..._ I thought, tensing. _You asked for it..._

With a yell that morphed into a crazy laugh, I whipped Sasha via the grip I had on her leg forward... And threw her out into the front lawn, onto the grass, and right into a puddle.

The reaction was immediate... And HIGHLY amusing.

_"Aaaaaaaiiiiiiieeeeeeee! Puddle! Puuuuuddddlllleeee! Wet, wet, dirty water, WET!"_ Sasha screamed, jumping out of the puddle... Which was rather clean looking and not even all that deep... Poor puddle. It wasn't dirty, just misunderstood...

Screaming, Sasha started running around the Skool's front yard, gaining the attention of the kids still playing in the rain. They all gave her rather creeped out looks, and slowly started to back away as she ran around in the rain like a chicken with it's head cut off, waving her arms around...

Like I'd said, HIGHLY... _AMUSING!_

I started laughing like a maniac, pointing at her with one hand as I covered my chest with the other, trying to calm myself down. My eyes closed as I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down for a few seconds.

I blinked my eyes open, happened to see that Sasha was _still_ screaming and running around, occasionally bumping into something or _someone,_ knocking them or _it_ down, and started laughing again.

It took me a few seconds to get myself moderately calm again, but when I did, I reopened the umbrella and started to walk away. Causally going down the stairs. The _instant_ both of my feet touched the ground, Sasha was under the large umbrella, shivering and sending me the nastiest look I'd seen on her face in at _least _a week...

Yeah, we messed with each other _just _that much.

"You _SUCK!_" She shouted at me, folding her arms in a vain attempt to warm herself as her teeth chattered. Of course, saying that simply made me laugh again. Sasha glared at me, dripping wet, then abruptly started to shake herself like a dog, her hair whipping around madly, and...

Instantly soaking me...

_DEMON!_

"Wah! _Dude!_" I shrieked, my laughter ending as if someone had just chopped it's head off.

Ooh... Freaky analogy... Whoo... I'd have to remember that one... Yep...

Sasha laughed at me, and after a moment of glaring at her, I broke down and started laughing as well, how could I not?

As I laughed, though, I realized that out laughter sounded slightly... Insane...

But I really didn't care! Nor did Sash!

Laughing with thunder rumbling in the background, we started walking towards home, punching and shoving each other (What can I say, we're boyish!). We were giggling and so preoccupied, that we were both unaware of the pale-faced figure that had taken shelter under the Skool yard's single tree while waiting for his sister; who stared at us with wide a mixture of fear, fascination, and horror in his wide caramel-colored eyes...

Although the back of my head _did_ tingle...

* * *

><p>Sorry this Chap was so short, but that's because it's gonna get better in the next chap! More... Exciting. More action-packed. More <em>annoyingly cheerful.<em> More... ZIMMISH.

... Until next time, my minions... AND REMEMBER MY FLIPPING MUFFINS! AH, HA HA HA HAAA!

~Jk.


	6. Awkward

Well, everyone, it's been a while, hasn't it? Eh, heh...

*Dodges knives thrown at her.*

HEY!

Well, okay, I deserved that... But STILL!

Anyway, this update is longer - to appease the rumbling in your writerly BELLIES - and I hope it lives up to standards.

Now that Summer Vacation has started - My graduation into Highschool is on Monday, but the last day was on Friday - I'm hopping to update a bit more, when I can. I DO, however, have and Animation Class that I am taking - on campus - at a local college soon - it's a week long - so if I disappear for a week, Don't be TOO alarmed...

Though I tend to disappear enough as is...

ALSO, I will only be responding to 'Question' reviews for now on - save for a few (unforseen at the moment) exceptions - instead of responding to all of you.

But, I must say, those muffins were DELISOUS! I swear, I'm drowning in muffiny goodness...

Anyway To;

**Monday78:**

I have... Certain _plans_ for Mr. Johnny C... Rest assured, he WILL show up, maybe soon, maybe later, not so sure yet...

**Gir'sdoomsongofdoom:**

Same thing I said to Monday.

Oh, and P.S. Here is the link to what Sasha and Casey look like. (Finally got off of my lazy butt and made it! ._."')

* * *

><p>(artlifeandcookies(DOT)blogspot(DOT)com(SLASH)2012(SLASH)06(SLASH)seriously-characters(DOT)html<p>

* * *

><p>Enjoy the chap!<p>

* * *

><p>…<p>

I yawned, and continued moving my hand across the page in front of me, the chemical fumes of the 'marker' I was using reaching my nose and making me grimace. My legs were crossed in order to keep the giant sketchbook propped up. Sharpie smell filled the air...

I grimaced again, or rather, the grimace I'd been wearing since leaving the house today worsened. Next to me, Sasha's head bobbed slightly as she tried to stay awake, eyes almost closed.

We were both once again in the office of the Skool, sitting in the same chairs as yesterday, too... Only NOW, it was Seven or so in the morning, and I had _still_ not gotten any orange juice, making me even _more_ grumpy than I usually was in the morning... Not good...

Can you tell that I'm irritable? Yeah? Good. Be wary. Go away. Do whatever, just don't tick me off!

I stared listlessly at the image that was quickly forming before me, but I caught a whiff of the Sharpie and my grimace deepened into a scowl. I'd been dreaming last night, having nightmares, and normally, I was completely fine with it! Loved nightmares, actually! They were inspiring! Loved a good fright!

_Just not when they kept me up all night..._

They had been... _Odd,_ to say the least. There had been, at first, a white room. A VERY white room... And then black trees had started to form slowly on the walls, as if ink had spilled and was dripping upwards instead of downwards... And after that it was just all flashing images and an overwhelming sense of fear and sadness and... And somehow, joy.

By now, the dream had almost totally faded, but I could remember a few snippets of it, so, as soon as I had found a place to sit, I'd pulled out my Sharpie – there was no _time_ for pencils! – and started to draw. I would've sat on the floor, but Sash had dragged me up here – onto the chair – arguing that it was better for my back, and myself in general, then promptly fell asleep.

She wasn't used to the early morning time we now had to get up at – Five ('Cause we both took FOREVER getting ready). Her internal clock was still set to 'It's summer now, let me flipping sleep in, alright?' and not 'Holy crow, it's school now, time to get up and LEARN stuff! Shoot! Go. Go. _Go!_'.

The day hadn't really sunk in yet, for either of us... Especially with more of that Sharpie smell drifting up to meet my nose. Gods I hated that smell! _Yuck!_

Just as I finished my drawing, Sasha yawned, and apparently bored of waiting for the 'guide' that would be taking us to our new classes and stuff – or just needing something to wake her up – she looked over at what I was doing.

Well, it certainly woke her up.

"What's _that?_" She asked quietly as I recapped my Sharpie and shoved it back into my bag, along with the colored ones I'd set on the chair next to me – I'd used them too.

Instead of answering her verbally – too tired to do so – I simply handed it to her, stifling a yawn. She took it, and after staring at it wide eyed for about a good minute, she handed it back to me with a weird look on her face, half confused, half put-off.

"What?" I half yawned, half asked, raising an eyebrow at her as I looked the picture over a bit, slightly disappointed by it. It wasn't _nearly_ as vivid as the dream had been, but alas... _This_ was what I could remember of it... And what I could recreate with my limited skills...

"That's... A creepy picture..." She said slowly. "What are you going to do with it?"

And indeed it _was_ a creepy picture. I'd drawn a dripping black border around the whole of the page, and in the center, there were a number of different pictures/scenes from my dream.

There was a forest of towering black trees with a white face peaking out of it, a hand stretching out of the forest and surrounding the whole of the rest of the pictures. A burning landscape, a falling tower, a bloody hand, someone, a girl – who's face was rather underdeveloped since I couldn't remember it well enough to draw it – crying, dusty clouds and cruddy looking buildings, two hands being held in that of a handshake, burning red eyes, a crow, blood, a group of shadow people hugging, an ocean, an island, a large image that looked like a space-ship of some kind and many, many stars... It had all been done in black and red, with a splash of blue here and there, and it really _was_ terribly creepy.

And yet... Some of it... The shadow people, the crow... The hands... It made me happy.

"Show it to the class because I don't feel like talking today and this successfully describes my innermost feelings, _apparently..._ Why?" I asked nonchalantly, smirking to myself and trying to brush away the nightmare... And the vague buzzing in my head... After shock from the nightmare, I suspected.

Sasha stared at me in shock. "First off, _why?_ This is a chance to make good first impressions! And _secondly,_ you _know_ that that's just gonna freak _you-know-who_ out!"

I snorted. "I was kidding!" I said quickly, waving a hand at her. "And oh yes... I know it would... I _know_..." I grinned.

Sasha grinned back and snickered. "Okay, _sure_ you were kidding..."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "I'm no idiot!" I snapped, then hunched my shoulders slightly, looking down at my sketchbook as I closed it and fiddled with the edges of the cover. "And like I'd show anyone _my_ drawings... I only showed you this one because you saw me drawing it in the first place... And I'm tired." I pouted slightly.

Truthfully, if I personally knew someone, I didn't like them seeing my art. Over the internet, where no one really knew anyone personally – for the most part – it was fine. Otherwise, I felt rather embarrassed.

I had a slight fear of face-to-face confrontation over my art, okay? Just leave it. Leeeaaaavvveeee iiiitttt!

Before either of us could continue our conversation, however, the door opened with a gentle squeak. A man walked in, one that both Sash and I instantly recognized, and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from calling out his name excitedly.

The man – who was wearing a vest, black glasses, and had slightly flattened hair – caught sight of the two of us and grinned, already stretching out a hand for us to shake even as he crossed the room. "Hey there! I'm Mr. Elliot!" The glasses-clad man said as Sasha and I stood, both slightly shocked yet incredibly excited at the sight of him.

This was really the _first_ official I.Z. character we had met, after all.

Sasha was the first to break out of our 'omg-it's-an-actual-I.Z.-character!' trance, simply because she was more of a morning person than I was. "Hello!" She said cheerfully, hopping our of her chair. She took the smiling teacher's hand and shook it as I stood, putting my back pack back on but still holding onto my sketchpad. "I'm Sasha!" She introduced herself. "And this is Casey, she's a little grumpy at the moment, though..." She added with a cheeky grin.

I elbowed her a little as I joined her, sending her a glare for a split second, ignoring her yelp. I then turned to Mr. Elliot, all smiles. This _was_ Mr. Elliot, after all... He _was_ an original I.Z. character.

"Morning." I greeted him, giving him a hand shake.

Mr. Elliot's smile flickered a little – if only slightly – when he saw the sketchbook tucked under my arm – turning curious. "Well, what's that?" He asked, tipping his head a little and pointing at it.

I looked down at my sketchbook for a moment, raising an eyebrow, before looking back up at the tall cartoon-man that stood before my friend and I. "My sketchbook." I answered plainly, smirking a little. Oh, if only he could see all the I.Z. art I had buried in there... _Ooh_, that reminded me, gotta make sure that no one got a hold of it... And I'd also have to be careful about opening it to a new page...

Mr. Elliot blinked before suddenly returning to his oh so _wonderfully_ cheerful self. "Well anyway," - Gosh, I could practically _see_ the horrible _morning_ joy oozing out of him! - "Like I said, I'm Mr. Elliot, I'll be giving you a _quick_ tour of our absolutely _wonderful_ – and _clean_ – Skool for the next half-hour or so. Then, as soon as I'm informed as to what it is, I'll take you to your _new_ classroom to meet our _new_ classmates! How's that sound?"

In the middle of his long winded – and flipping overly-_cheerful_ – speech, he's crouched down to our level, balancing on his heels with his arms resting on his knees. Now, he grinned at us, eyes practically shut in happiness as he switched his gaze from Sash, to me, then back to Sash, obviously finding her more 'morning-friendly'.

"Awesome!" Sasha cheered enthusiastically, obviously happy to have found another morning person. She probably hoped that Mr. Elliot would lighten _me_ up a bit.

_Well,_ little ol' doom and gloom morning-me wasn't going to have _that._ Nope! I wasn't going to be completely happy until I got some orange juice into my system and/or vented my slight anger at, well, _everything._

I was 'vewy gwumpy', as Sash had said earlier this morning and on the way to Skool.

"Adequate." I said. My tired gloominess didn't even phase Mr. Elliot, however, and he stood back up straight. smiling.

"Alrighty, then! Follow me, kids!" Mr. Elliot practically sang, starting for the door.

Mentally, I imagined beating Mr. Elliot's head in with my sketchbook, his cartoony blood splattering onto my face as I grinned psychotically – like Johnny C.

I was not a morning person and I did not like being called a 'kid'. I was not a kid. My grip tightened on my sketchbook at the mere thought of being called a 'kid' – kid meaning someone who didn't understand. Who was ignorant – and I wondered at my sudden anger in the back of my mind.

And before you jump to conclusions, of _course,_ I didn't beat his head in. I needed him for the tour after all...

* * *

><p>I honestly felt like killing myself.<p>

No, really, death would be better at this point. Better than spending another _second_ with the cheerful morning _monster_ that was Mr. Elliot.

The WHOLE time he gave us the tour, he was practically _spewing_ morning joy. Honestly, if it _wasn't_ morning, I probably wouldn't have minded one bit, but this much cheerfulness _this_ early in the morning... *Shudder* It was just a flat out _unnatural_ occurrence to my system, and I wasn't handling it all too well.

Well, at least it was over now. (Thank you every God known to man!)

We had been getting a _very_ informative and thorough – not to mention _cheerful_ – lecture/tour of the Skool, and Mr. Elliot had just stopped to talk about a random machine in the Boiler Room – which was an uncomfortably _hot_ Boiler Room – when we had heard the bell ring, and the footsteps of hundreds of kids going to class. With a disappointed; 'Oh, Too bad... I was just getting to the very _best_ part!' From Mr. Elliot, we'd made our way back up the spiral staircase.

I couldn't help but let out a little sigh of relief – the tension in my shoulders disappearing – when we left the Boiler Room. It wasn't that I was afraid of the dark or anything. No. I actually was relatively calm – if not a bit jumpy and hyper aware – in the dark, and it wasn't that the Boiler Room reminded me of that one scene in that 'Freddy' movie – which it was actually modeled after, according to Zim Wiki.

It was just...

Okay, so, the show had been canceled roughly ten years ago, which meant I was four-ish when it was still on. Well little, tiny, four-year-old me had one day, randomly, decided to watch TV, and what else happened to be on? Invader Zim – Dark Harvest.

I was _terrified,_ but I LOVED it! I sat there on the floor, giggling yet terrified, feeling hilarity, yet panic. The show was just coming to a close, when my mother walked in.

Needless to say, she FREAKED. She thought that a show like that would mess with my head – it _didn't!_ … Okay, it _did,_ but only a little bit – and turned it off. After that, we both completely forgot about it until about a year ago, when I happened to chance upon it again.

Mom, of course, hated it. Thought it was stupid, really, and dad thought it was... _Sorta_ okay... It made me sad that they never wanted to watch it with me...

"Hey?" Sasha suddenly asked as we reached the – now emptied of children – hall. "What's up? You got that Distant Look on your face again."

Ah, yes. The Distant Look. A famous look among the two of us. It's the look I got when I was either lost and dead to the world and out of it... There was another Distant Look, one where we were concentrating, and we both had a form of each... We wore them so often, we'd somewhat trained ourselves into recognizing them...

"Hmm?" I asked, blinking at her. "Oh, nothing... Just remembering D.H." I said, smiling a bit.

Sasha looked confused, and it took her a second to get it, but then she smiled. "Epic episode, right?" She asked.

I smirked a bit, hardly noticing the slightly curious look Mr. Elliot sent back at us, the barest trace of a smile on his face, as if he was happy that we were being friendly.

...Actually, he wasn't all that bad – Mr. Elliot, once you got past all the 'cheerful'. He could grow on me, given enough time... And orange juice.

Seriously. I needed some orange juice.

Like, now.

NOW.

"Totally." I said with a nod. We reached the office again – the secretary was missing – and Mr. Elliot told us (Cheerfully, of course) to go sit in our chairs, and then grabbed a phone off of the secretary's desk (The woman was probably on yet another 'break') and started dialing.

There was a faint clicking noise as the call connected, and I heard the muffled 'Hello?' from the person who had answered. The only way I knew he (as it sounded) said 'hello' was because of the familiar ring of the words.

"Hello! This is Mr. Elliot, I was just wondering if you had assigned our two _newest_ students to their classroom yet?" The happy teacher asked. There was the quiet sound of someone answering, and for a split second I saw that, ever so slightly, Mr. Elliot's smile decreased, more so than when he'd seen my anti-morning attitude.

Oh, yeah... Now I _knew _for _certain_ which class we were going to get... How could I not? This WAS how it worked when two random people got teleported into another (cartoon or comic) universe/dimension, right? Their lives just seemed to intertwine with the main characters'.

At least... That's how it worked in the stories... Heh... Yeah...

Lets hope that's how it works here, too, eh?

"Well that's just _great!_" Mr. Elliot cheered, his voice still just as joy-filled as ever, despite his expression. "I'll give her," – Sasha and I exchanged an excited glance – "A call and let her know!" He then hung up and began to dial again, as he did, he glanced back at us. "Guess what, kiddies?" I twitched at the word 'kiddies'. "According to the Principle Overlord," – hmm, funny. He didn't seem to think saying that _weird..._ – "You get to be in Ms. Bitters' class! Isn't that great?"

Just as we opened out mouths to tell him that, yes, that WAS great, the phone clicked again and there was a loud and annoyed _'What?'_ from the other end.

I'd recognize that scathing voice anywhere.

"Hello?" Mr Elliot said. "This is Mr. Elliot! The Principle has informed me that the two new students – Sasha and Casey – are going to be in _your _classroom! Isn't that _neat!_"

A loud screeching shriek was the teacher's reply. The only words I could make out were a lot of 'You ROTTEN, little!' and 'How DARE you?', 'You will PAY!' and then it got a little more quiet as Mr. Elliot started trying to talk some sense into the demon lady I was sure was on the other end.

"Ms. Bitters, _please..._ No! No, I don't think _that!_ … But it's his ORDERS, you know I can't...!" He gave a pleasant laugh. "Oh, no, no, Ms. Bitters, _organs_ go on the _inside!_"

"She'd better leave his organs alone..." I muttered as Mr. Elliot continued trying to calm down Ms. Bitters. I crossed my arms a little grumpily, going Distant for a moment. "Their _mine_ anyway... I wanna do some experiments and find out where he's keeping all that _happy..._"

"... Whaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt?" Sasha asked, one eye narrowing as she leaned away from me. "_Whhaaaaaaaat?_ That... That was just creepy, Cas..."

I blushed. "S-Shut up! I was being random!" I muttered. So much for that... The ONE time I try to let go a little like Sash does. The ONE time!

Sasha blinked, then grinned. "Awwwww! I'm so _prrroouuuuddd!_" She suddenly leaned over the arms of the chairs and hugged my head. "My wittle Cassy ish gwowing uppp!" She squealed. "What a wonderfully insane person you've become!"

"Ah, SASHA!" I snapped, pushing her away as she started to make baby noises at me, giggling. "Stop it!" I snapped. "You know I don't like being touched..."

An apologetic look fitted onto Sasha's face for a moment before she snickered. "Well then STOP being random and creepy! That's my thing!"

I glared at her. "No, creepy is _my_ thing... Your just insane..." I argued.

"Can we just agree that I'm weird, insane, creepy, and random, and that you're creepy, slightly more sane, weird, and just a _little_ random?" Sasha asked.

I grinned. "Sure." I said, just as Mr. Elliot walked over to us, having ended his conversation with Ms. Bitters.

"Well, let's go, shall we? I'll lead you _right _to your classroom." He said, sounding as if a demon lady _hadn't_ just screamed bloody murder at him via a telephone. He started walking towards the door, but I stood and held up my free hand, the other still being preoccupied by my sketchbook, since I'd refused to put it back in my bag... It was rather unnerving looking at something that was bigger on the inside like that...

Meh, I'd get used to it...

"Actually, Mr. Elliot." I said as Sasha hopped off of her chair, her creepy-ish grin still plastered on her face. "If it's alright with you, we'll go in on our own." Seeing the confused – and to my surprise, slightly _hurt_ – look he sent at me and Sash, I elaborated. "You see, this '_Ms. Bitters' person_, seems like she's kinda mad at you at the moment, sooo, maybe it would be the best if you stayed here?" I offered hopefully, raising an eyebrow.

Mr. Elliot seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well... I _do _like having all my limbs attached, _and_ all my organs inside me where they're supposed to be... But you don't know where her classroom is!" He sent us a familiar 'Teacher' kind of look.

"Yeah we do!" Sasha suddenly piped up, tucking her hands behind her back and giving Mr. Eliot a deceitfully 'cute' look. "You pointed it out to us when we were going to see the Taxidermy room, remember?"

I grinned. _Clever..._

"Oh! Well, then I guess it's okay, then!" Mr. Elliot said, suddenly brightening. He started herding us towards the door. "Better get going! Class has been in session for a few minutes already, don't wanna get Ms. Bitters any more angry than she already is!" He shoved us gently through the door.

We turned around and saw him starting to close the door, waving and smiling. "M-Mr. Elliot!" I suddenly said.

Mr. Elliot paused and Sash gave me an odd look. "Yes, Casey?" He asked politely.

I smiled, then, on some random impulse, said; "Thank you very much for the tour, sir."

Mr. Elliot blinked at me for a moment – I was sure that Sasha was doing so too – and then beamed. And it wasn't the 'cheerful' one he'd been wearing all day, either... It was rather genuine.

"Thank you, Casey... Now off to class!" And just like that, he closed the door in our faces.

We stood there for a moment, I staring at the door, and Sasha giving me an oddly appreciative – pleased at least – look. We looked at each other for a second, then the door. Each other. Door. Each other. Door. Each other...

"Race ya!" We said in union, and darted off down the hall, laughing a little. Oh, man... This was gonna be _fun!_

* * *

><p>It took us only a few minutes to reach the odd 'cul-de-sac' hall that Ms. Bitters' classroom was a part of, and when we reached it, we both slowed to a walk, suddenly unsure. Well, at least <em>I<em> was unsure... I wasn't certain on what Sasha was feeling... She was at the _least_ nervous... I mean, I _hoped _she was... It wasn't like I _knew_ or anything, ha! _Nope._

I mean, come on! Did we REALLY want to do this? Were we REALLY going to burst into the main casts lives and just be ACCEPTED? WHO were WE kidding? What, did we think that we'd suddenly become 'main characters' ourselves and that Zim and Dib would suddenly find us interesting? Pay attention to us? _Revolve_ around _us?_

HA! PLEASE! What was so wrong with us that we'd assume _that?_ We'd just fade in and away with the background characters and ride in the back seat. Ha, we'd probably sit in the back of the room, too! Totally unnoticed by everyone.

I frowned at my own angry thoughts. _Gosh_ I was moody today, wasn't I? Must be lack of orange juice. If Sasha could hear my thoughts right now she'd probably laugh at me. I was being overly dramatic, wasn't I? Ehh, whatever...

Sash and I stopped before a door that had no words on it, but we both knew was Ms. Bitters' door. I crossed my arms and shifted my weight onto one hip, holding my sketchbook against my chest and tipping my head, and Sasha stared up at it with huge eyes. I glared at it a moment, one eyebrow raised, thinking. It looked taller now that I was so cartoon-short, didn't it? Yeah... It did. Hm.

"I like staring at doors." Sasha stated abruptly – and randomly – and I glanced over at her out of the corner of my eye. "But this one's dirty."

Good to see Sasha wasn't _too_ nervous to be random.

Aka – normal.

Or rather, abnormal to others...

I sighed. "Sooo, what? Are we just gonna barge in? Do something dramatic? Sing a song?" I paused as Sasha glanced over at me, then turned my head to look at her. "I am _not_ singing." I said shortly, eyes narrowing.

Sasha grinned at me, before regaining her nervous look and staring back at the door. "I donno..." She mumbled. "I mean, should we casually stroll in and try not to be noticed? Knock? Go for a big entrance? This is a really big moment in our lives you know – my life. We're meeting the cast of _Invader Zim,_ and two of the main characters – the two most _awesome_ characters, three if you count Ms. Bitters – and I don't wanna do it wrong... Maybe we _should_ sing..."

'Sing'? Nu-uh. No thanks.

I uncrossed my arms, one hand still holding onto my sketchbook, raised my right foot, and slammed it right into the door with a loud bang, sending it flying open and crashing into the wall it was hinged on. It hit with a loud '**SLAM**!' that shook the whole room.

I do not sing for the amusement of others.

I strode in rather calmly, my nose slightly upturned and Sasha quickly followed at my left, an absolutely shocked – yet slightly amused – look on her face. _"What is with you and kicking DOORS?"_ She half hissed, half yelled. Before I could turn around and give her a smartypants answer, however, I was rudely interrupted by a horrified scream of terror.

How rude.

"I told you! I TOLD you there'd be MORE! I TOLD YOU!" Someone shrieked. Sasha and I blinked and looked over at the pale glasses-wearing kid who was pressing himself against the opposite wall, shaking and pointing at us in horror. "He called for MORE! I TOLD YOU he would! I TOLD YOU!"

It was Dib... And he looked exactly like he did in the series – raven black scythe-spiked hair, glasses, the whole deal – and also... Absolutely horrified, unlike the rest of the class – including one green skinned weirdo – who all just looked rather shocked and a bit creeped out.

I re-crossed my arms, still holding my sketchpad, but before I could say something that would undoubtedly freak him out even _more_ and perhaps even give him permanent mental scarring, I was – _yet again_ – interrupted. That did not help my mood at all. _First_ I don't get any orange juice, _secondly_ I get an overly-cheerful and _early_ tour of the whole – huge – Skool, and _third_, I kept _being interrupted!_

GOSH! This was just ANNOYING! Would YOU like being interrupted when YOU were a grumpy demon? NO. No you would NOT!

Ahem, but I digress.

"Dib! You horrible screaming doomed child! _Silence!_ Or do I need to get the _muzzle_ again?" A horrible, _evil, _and ancient voice that made both Sasha and I grin hissed.

I turned my head slightly to see none other than the white-haired demon lady that was Ms. Bitters. She looked even more decrepit and evil in person, and she was sending a glare at Dib that would have singed the hair off of Bigfoot, given the chance. She leaned over her desk menacingly, her body as snake and shadow-like as always.

Dib – though still staring at us with wide caramel-colored eyes – got the universal 'Oh snap!' look, and scrambled to get from his spot by the window to his desk. He sent Sasha and I an evil glare that we both returned with smiles and waves.

Well, Sash smiled brightly and waved energetically, while I, on the other hand, tipped my head downwards slightly and grinned, raising a free hand to wiggle my fingers a little in a half wave.

I didn't do it because I didn't like him. No. On the contrary, I liked Dib a _lot._ He was one of my favorite characters and I could sympathize a _lot_ with him... I simply liked freaking him out. Why?

Well, for one thing – his expressions. They were GREAT! Jhonen and the other writers/artists did a really good job getting his personality across. For another – his _reactions!_ He tended to freak out over EVERYTHING – at least at the start of the series – and get really, _really_ excited over things... Little things... And it was just so _hilarious!_

I smirked at the slightly freaked out look he gained as Ms. Bitters continued, now turning her attention – and face – onto us, a displeased scowl on said face. She obviously hadn't been expecting more students, nor been wanting them.

"Now," she hissed, sounding oddly calm, yet still retaining her croaking-scratchy tone of voice. "These two _horribly __**doomed**_ children's names are... Ehh, Sasha Lee and Casey Blazer." She said, using the two fake last names we'd created, both names used based on our own history, likes, dislikes, whatever.

They were personal names, and I'm not going to bother explaining them to you.

There was a collective and robotic 'Hello, Sasha and Casey' from everyone in the class, save for Dib and Zim. Dib was still glaring at us, and Zim seemed too superior – yet still rather freaked out – to care, which was obvious in the way he held up his 'nose' at us.

"If you have anything to say, say it _now,_ because after this moment, no one will ever pay attention to you two little _doomed_ children ever again, because that is just how horribly _doomed _you are!" Ms. Bitters continued, before sitting back in her seat, looking as grumpy as ever.

_Wonder how well __**that's**__ gonna work out for you, eh, Bitters?_ I thought suddenly, smirking ever so slightly.

I was interrupted from my thoughts as Sasha suddenly raised a hand and started waving it 'spazztacularly' at the class, grinning. "Heeeey!" She said, sounding even more sunny than Mr. Elliot had been. She grinned with her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she continued waving her hand at mind numbing speeds, not seeming like she was going to stop any time soon.

Quickly growing annoyed, I darted my free hand up and out and grabbed her arm, halting it. Sasha blinked and looked at me blankly. I raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her and nodded ever so slightly towards the weirded out class, letting go of her. _Really?_ I thought at her. _You're __**that**__ ADHD? Sheesh._

"Oh, yeeeeaaah!" Sash said, and looked at the class, now back on task. "Hi everyone!" She remarked cheerfully.

A few of the girls – Zita and Avi by the look of it, though my memory wasn't usually this good – snickered and I sent a glare – that they _missed_ – their way. _Jerks..._ I thought at them, growling nearly inaudibly, not missing the suspicious look I was getting from Dib, but choosing to ignore it._ If they flipping mess with Sash, there will be __**heck**__ to pay..._

I was very protective of Sasha – not that she couldn't protect herself. She _could._ God knew she could. But like I said, I was _protective_ dang it! And if a couple of girls – Invader Zim-cannon or _not_ – decided to _bully_ her, _hurt_ her, _tease_ her, or be, in any way, _mean_ to her, I would not hesitate to _flay_ _them._.. With a _straw._

You may have noticed – _I_ sure as heck had – that the lack of orange juice my brain was dealing with, was making me a _tid_ bit violent... Well, more violent than usual, but I've gotten off topic.

"My name is Sasha, but my friends call me Sash! Well... Casey does... ANYWAY, I like animals and music and cookies and drawing and writing and sporks and horror movies and gym and 'A 1000 Ways to Die'" - she got a couple of freaked out looks at that - "the show 'Supernatural' and Evanescence and other music like that – Linkin Park for example – and scaring the CRUD outta people!" She giggled, almost shrilly, and I saw Dib and – surprisingly – _Zim's_ eyes narrow slightly at her.

Uh-oh, they might not have those shows and artists here – even ZIM had realized that. The shock of that realization nearly showed on my face. Thankfully, I managed to hold it in, and mentally shrugged it off. So what if they didn't have the same shows and music here and nobody knew about it? TONS of bands and shows go unnoticed by the greater population... Just look at Invader Zim for example!

"The only thing you REALLY need to know about me," Sasha continued, tone as cheerful as ever. "Is that I am _not _a good person to tick off. If you get me mad, I will either bite you, or cut you with a rusty object... Or, probably, use a spork of some kind, since those are my weapons of choice."

She completely missed the looks of horror and total 'weirded-outed-ness' she was getting from everyone – especially Zim and Dib (The two most sane people in Invader Zim, probably) – and continued, in the _sweetest_ voice that I had EVER hear her use.

"I _really_ like sporks! They're _the_ best weapon that I have _ever_ used!" She smiled sweetly at the class, giggling and holding her hands together in front of her in a 'cutesy' pose, eyes flashing.

Face, once again – meet palm.

I shook my head slightly. Ohh, Sash... Gotta love that girl...

As the whole class gave Sasha a look of utmost disbelief – Dib's being the most accusatory, and Zim's being the most shocked (Though he was probably thinking about how _he _could use a spork) – Ms. Bitters spoke.

"Your cheerfulness disgusts me." She croaked out.

"Yeeaaahh... It tends to do that..." Sasha said, nodding as I lowered my hand looking at her out of the corner of my eye, smirking slightly.

Ms. Bitters glared at her for a moment, before switching her gaze onto me, making me jump. Crud! I'd hoped that I'd fly under the radar. CRAB! "You!" She snapped, pointing a boney finger at me. "Speak now or _shut up._"

I blinked at her, before I let out a half sigh, half groan, and looked pleadingly at Sasha. I _really_ didn't want to _doooo_ _thiiiisssss._ And it wasn't because I was as nervous as heck – which I was – or because I didn't know what to say – which I didn't – nor because I felt that I would faint at any moment – which I did – OR because I didn't know what to do, at all... Wait, no. It _was _that last one.

_Seriously!_ What was I supposed to _do?_ Was I supposed to freak out? Act super cool – no, that's Mary-Sue-ish, bleh. In the fan-fics, people usually either freaked out, or acted overly cool and collected... But what about _me?_ What was _I_ supposed to do? I was neither of those things!

Sasha snarkily imitated my earlier nod, which was _so_ not cool! _I_ was the snarker here! Not her! _I _was the Snark Shark! _Me!_ Not her, _me! MMMMEEEEEE!_

Guh... Sorry.

With another sigh, I turned to the class, deciding to just wing it. "'Ello," I started, raising a hand. "I'm-"

_"Hey!"_ Some random kid – I donno who, which was weird, 'cause I'd once Wiki-ed all the kids in Ms. Bitters' class – half shouted. He was blond and wearing a red beanie-like cap – CARL! THAT was his name! Carl!

"You British, dude?" He called, then turned towards Dib, smirking. "Looks like you've got a _real_ alien, huh, _Dib?_" He quipped, and the classroom erupted into laughter, save for Dib – who was glaring at the kid angrily – and Sash and I. I got the distinct impression that Dib had once mentioned the fabled _'British people are aliens'_ theory to the class, or had accused somebody with an accent of being an alien.

My eye twitched a little at being interrupted, but I let it slide. "Contrary to popular belief..." I started quietly, and the class quieted down, looking at me again... Which I half preferred that they didn't do. "The British are _not_ alie – _well..._" I cut myself off, tipping my head to the side slightly and holding up a finger. "That's arguable – _what with the Doctor and all..._" I added quietly, ignoring the suddenly attentive looks from the two 'main characters' I was getting. I could say anything I wanted to!

I shook my head. "But anyway, no, I am _not_ British, I just really like them."

"So where are you from?" Another kid, one with a pale, round head and bleach blonde hair – Melvin! – called, and there were a couple of curious mutters.

"Wisconsin." I said...

At the same exact time Sasha said; "We're foreign exchange students."

Oh fudge.

"I wasn't aware that **Wisconsin** was a _foreign_ country!" Dib called out, looking... Rather pleased with himself.

FUDGE!

Sasha and I exchanged a glance and then my head snapped back towards the class, a sudden calm look to it.

Okay, Cas... Time to tell a story.

I mentally cracked my knuckles, took a deep breath, then opened my mouth and spoke.

"Don't _tell_ me you haven't _heard!_" I drawled, hating myself for the tone I was using. GOD, I sounded like Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter! _BLEEEEEEEEHHHH! _Gross...

That got a confused look out of Dib, and the rest of the the class. "Heard _what?_" He asked slowly.

I gave him what I hoped was a shocked look, then suddenly – after an appropriate pause – quietly 'ahhh'-ed to myself. "Oh, but of _course _you wouldn't know..." I said, my voice sounding fake, even to myself. Oh well, I'd dug this hole, and I was gonna stick with it until it caved in on itself.

"Know _what?_" Dib snapped, not sounding fooled at all and rather impatient.

Ahh, enough stalling, story time... Let's play the 'how long can I flipping keep this up?' game, everyone!

"Well, you _see,_" I said, using my lecture/Dib-lecture voice. "We – Wisconsin – got so flipping _sick_ of arguing with," I forced my voice into a hiss of loathing, surprised at my own acting skills. "_California_ over which of us were the _REAL_ dairy state of the U.S., so very sick, that we seceded!" I crossed my arms over my sketchbook and chest as there came a interested murmur from the class...

Except from Dib.

"_Really?_" He snapped, glaring at his classmates. "You're REALLY going to BELIEVE this?" He snapped, waving his arms a little.

"Quiet Dib!" A random kid snapped, and he sank lower into his seat, sending me a 'DEATH GLARE'. I just sent him the lightest of smirks, secretly amazed at the idiocy of this world's children.

"Yeah," I continued. "SO, we left the U.S." I made a nostalgic sighing noise and glanced over at Sasha, who – catching on – looked at the ceiling with a longing sort of look of her very own. "We became Wisconsinonia," I continued, my voice starting to get a 'revolution' kind of a ring to it. "And it was GLORIOUS! Our flag was beautiful – I can imagine it now, billowing and snapping in the wind... There were no wars! No hunger! No gangs! No crime! The hobos, they were FREE again! FREE, I say!" I lifted my 'REVOLUTIONARY FIST OF REVOLUTION' into the air, shaking it slightly and grinning up towards the ceiling.

Dib and Ms. Bitters snorted at almost exactly the same time, and I lowered my head slightly.

"Then it all went horribly wrong..." I continued, tone now deathly quiet. "War DID come... And with it, it brought famine... Death... Sickness... Radioactive SEAGULLS!" I threw a hand over my forehead as the class – or at least the idiots of the class – gasped. I glanced at Dib, who was muttering to himself – not buying it – then at Zim, who had raised an 'eyebrow' at me – also not buying it... Maybe... I donno, he looked like he was at least _considering_ my story...

I lowered my hand, and looked over the class, at their attentive faces, then at Ms. Bitters, and her lack of expression, and then, finally, at Sasha.

Our eyes met.

She failed at suppressing a smirk...

I smirked too...

Oh, God...

Too... Too much...

**"BWA-HA-HA-HA-**_**HAAAAAAA!**_**"** I shrieked – so did Sash, though shriller – and clutched at my middle, ignoring the sudden jolt that ran through the class – even the little yelp from Zim – at mine and Sasha's sudden laughter.

"Oh-Oh my God." I said, holding up a hand. "I-I'm sorry, I – I – I... AH _HA!_" I took a big gulp of air, before straightening out, gasping. I looked over the confused class – smirking slightly when I saw Dib clutching his desk, nail digging into it – and grinned, giggling and pointing a thumb back at Sasha. "We're full of it." I admitted, shrugging a little.

"I KNEW it!" Dib shrieked at the same time a disappointed murmur rumbled through the classroom and we received about a million glares. I raised an eyebrow at him – he had one foot up on his desk and was pointing at us _oh_ so dramatically– then, right on cue...

"DIB!" Ms. Bitters snapped. "Sit DOWN, or you will be going 'DOWN' to the _underground classroom!_" She hissed.

Looking like a kicked dog, Dib slowly sat back down – Zim snickering in the background – pouted and crossed his arms. "But they're _aliens!_" He muttered to himself, too quiet for anyone to hear.

Or so he thought.

Yeah, that's right, I've got LASER-BEAM HEARING, everyone... Apparently. I don't know, all I know is that my head was itchy again and that I heard him... Whatev.

"So, anyway," I said, pointing at Sasha. "She's Sasha," I pointed a thumb at my chest. "And _I'm_ Casey." I smiled a bit darkly. "We're _kinda_ insane..." I grinned at Dib's 'look', before continuing. "So, be prepared or whatever. ANYWAY, I'm usually preeeettyy quiet – unless I get excited or freak out – so don't mind me. I like drawing and music and writing, and uhh, reading, learning, science, social studies, Doctor who – oh GOD I love that show! – EXPERAMENTS GONE HORRIBLYWRONG, horror films, comedy, HORRIBLE ACCEDENTS – not really, though – blah, blah, blah, I really don't wanna talk right now and I haven't had any _orange_ _juice_ so I'm GRUMPY, so don't MESS WITH ME, or TOUCH ME, or my BELONINGS, like my SKETCHPAD, or I'll **CUT** you. Do that and we'll all get along just _fiiinnnneee..._" I said, using a lot of emphases-es. I crossed my arms over my sketchpad and looked over at Ms. Bitters. "Can we sit down now?" I asked pleadingly.

"Meh, sure." Ms. Bitters said with a careless shrug. "Now, where to put you..."

Sasha and I knew what that meant, and we each took a half step back. Ms. Bitters cast her 'evil' gaze over the class, and every student her eyes rested on seemed to shudder and clutch onto their desks a little tighter. Once or twice she looked at Zim and Dib – how I knew she did, what with her blank glasses and all, is beyond me – and then...

"You two!" Bitters suddenly hissed, pointing two fingers – a warped 'peace' sign – at the boy and girl who sat in between Zim and Dib. My mind easily brought me their names ; Brian and Aki – I liked Aki, sorta. "You will be transferred to the underground classroom!"

Aki and Brian had a split second to look completely shocked, before their seats – not to mention they themselves – dropped into a hole in the ground that appeared out of nowhere.

Lots of things seemed to appear out of nowhere here.

The two kid's screams echoing slightly in the air, Sasha and I exchanged looks of shock and slight nervousness and – admitably – excitement, and scampered to our new desks. Sasha took the one next to Dib's – Aki's – and I took Brian's sending Zim a nervous sort of half grin as I sat down, glancing at the floor. My stomach made an odd flip-flop at the fading sounds of the kid's screams.

Cartoon or not, that was just cruel... And creepy... And sad.

I tapped the floor slightly with my foot as I set my sketchbook on my desk, as if that could counsel poor Brian. I looked over at Zim, who just STARED at me, looking freaked out, so I looked over at Sasha, who was grinning broadly under Dib's suspicious glare. She looked over at me, grinned a little wider, before holding her hands together on the desk top. She looked up at Ms. Bitters attentively and I followed her example.

"As I was saying before I was _interrupted,_" she said as I leaned back in my chair slightly, crossing my arms over my stomach in my usual 'relaxed' pose, not at all fazed by the pointed glare she sent at Sash and I. "Thanks to the concentrated _stupidity_ located on this planet, the increased gravitational pull caused by said stupidity will eventually cause the whole planet, and whole _universe_ to **implode** in on itself, so, in short, you're all just doomed... Doomed... Doomed..."

"True, that..." I muttered as Ms. Bitters went into her 'Doom' loop. What was with her, anyway? Why was she always putting people down, making others depressed...? What had happened to her to make her like th-?

_'Keep them down. Make them drown Put them down before they put __**you**__ down. Crush their spirits before they crush yours. Don't let them win, never let them win. Keep them down. Make them drown. Put them down before they–'_

"Ah!" I gasped, slapping my hand onto the back of my head. _"Owch_!_"_ I scratched and poked the spot on my head that had suddenly flared up all tingly-like... Like pins and needles or something, but in my head.

But wait, did I... Did I really just HEAR that? Where... Where had that come from...?

I shook my head. _I'm self narrating again... I'm such an idiot..._ I thought, smirking at my own stupidity, though it was slightly more nervous than my usual smirk.

_"You okay?"_ Sasha whispered, tipping her head at me. I gave her a nod, figuring it was just something random, me self narrating again, like I'd just thought – stupid me – and Sasha gave me a shrug, before turning her gaze onto Ms. Bitters.

I then noticed Dib.

He had a small notebook out and was scribbling in it furiously. He glanced up at me, then blinked, as if surprised. The 'surprise' disappeared, however, replaced with a slightly angry, slightly furious look. He mouthed the words 'I know what you are!' at me, before smirking victoriously, obviously expecting a surprised/scared response.

Oh, I had a response, alright, and it was quietly blowing a raspberry at him, crossing my eyes.

Dib recoiled with a disgusted look on his face as I smirked at him, exchanging a humored look with Sasha. It wasn't like I HATED Dib or anything. No, on the contrary. I thought he was thoroughly AWESOME, and would love to be his friend...

But that didn't mean I couldn't tease him.

No, nothing could stop me from teasing him or somebody I wanted to tease. Unless, of course, I hurt their feelings... I didn't necessarily want to do THAT.

For a minute or two, Sasha and I just sat in silence with the rest of the class, not quite sure as to what to do. We were in INVADER ZIM for Pete's sake, but we weren't gonna FREAK OUT like idiots, and it _was_ class time now. Bitters would yell at us if we tried to talk with anyone too much, but I REALLY wanted to DO something – like _talk._ To _Zim,_ or _Dib_.

Sasha and I glanced at each other – she looked as torn as I felt – not quite sure what to do. Normally – in the real world – we'd just write or draw during 'work time' at school after we'd gotten our actual work done, but there wasn't really any 'work' here, and nothing overly interesting was being taught... So we were a little overwhelmed with all of our new free time we suddenly had.

Plus, you know, having your favorite cartoon characters within 'complete and total fangirl break down hug-fest' range made you just a LITTLE nervous and jumpy... And jittery.

"... I'm... gonna write or something..." I said, swinging my backpack onto my lap and tucking my sketchbook inside before I started digging around, trying to ignore the bigger-on-the-inside-ness of it.

"Same." Sasha admitted, taking off her own backpack to dig through it as well. She paused as I pulled one of my notebooks out – a random one, I was feeling spontaneous today – and leaned towards me. "I'm gonna be _really_ random and insane from here on out, so don't be alarmed." She whispered.

I covered my mouth to cut off the loud 'HA!' I was about to utter, and grinned. "Just be careful." I warned. "Don't say anything suspicious."

Sasha gave me her 'EVIL GRIN'. "No promises..." She trilled, before she sat back up, starting to write as if Dib WASN'T looking at her suspiciously and as if she _hadn't_ just predicted the apocalypse.

I rubbed at my forehead. We were doomed... _DOOMED._

…

Then again, what did I care?

I took my hand away from my face and caught Dib's 'evil eye'. I simply stuck my tongue out at him again – though lacking in raspberry this time – set my notebook down, slipped my backpack back on, and opened to my latest page in my book.

"Hmm..." I hummed to myself, speaking too quietly for my words to make much sense, I'm sure. "Nancy... I haven't written in _your_ story in a while..." I murmured at the black notebook that I'd chosen. I began to write from the paragraph I'd stopped at. I'd actually managed to get halfway down the next page, when the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my head got itchy again. I turned my head slightly, SWEARING I heard it creak – I'd been hunched over the notebook like I had some sort of old-person back problem, so it wasn't THAT far fetched – and sat up, blinking at the freen 'boy' that was giving me his signature 'one-eye-squinted-other-wide-open' look.

_Someone _was suspicious.

I wonder _who?_

…

I'd be ashamed of myself if I were you, and you _didn't_ guess Zim.

SHAME! SHAME onto you who guessed wrong! Go sit in the corner!

…

Uhh, anyway...

I was, honestly, still a little – okay, VERY – grumpy about having had no orange juice, but my body was starting to adapt – and my brain and soul starting to accept – that I PROBABLY wouldn't be getting any anytime soon, and I mean, _come_ _on!_ This was _Zim!_ I wasn't going to pass up the chance to say 'Hi!' and introduce myself!

I wasn't an IDIOT!

So, I twisted around in my seat to face him, and stuck my hand out. "Hello! I'm Casey!" I said in my most pleasant voice, which wasn't that hard, actually.

Truth be told, I'd been – the whole time I was in this class room – suppressing my inner 'Fangirl', and attempting not to launch myself into full on 'Fangirl Mode'. One reason I WASN'T in said mode, was probably my lack of energy and orange juice.

Lucky for the cast... REALLY lucky...

Also, 'fan-spazzing' right now could result in blowing our – INGENIOUS! – cover, so I simply refused to let myself do it.

Zim paused, his eyes widening. He gave my hand a look of utmost disgust – as if it was covered in toxic sludge or something. "ZIM does not _shake hands,_" his whole body seemed to twitch dramatically. "With filthy pig smellies." Zim said rather loudly – attracting the fleeting attention of a few students - and turned away, apparently deciding to ignore me, like I was some sort of unwanted speck of dirt he'd seen while hosting a fancy dinner party, and was trying desperately not to snuff out in front of 'the company' at his party.

Ouch. That... That hurt... Like, a lot... I wasn't as good at blocking things like that as Sasha was, and this was coming from someone I admired a lot too... It, stung...

Then again... What else had I expected? Friendliness? HA! Nope. Not from ZIM.

"O... Kay." I said quietly, turning back to facing forward in my seat. I stared at my open notebook for a moment, feeling hurt. But, I felt eyes on me, and turned to see both Sasha and Dib looking at me. Sasha's look was half sympathetic and half amused – which didn't really help – and Dib's was half snide, half confused – which REALLY didn't help. Apparently, he didn't know WHAT to think of my rejection...

My face smoldered, and after a muted "Shut up." from me – even though no one was speaking, I looked back down at my open notebook, hands in my lap and shoulders slumped. I let out a quiet sigh as a feeling of awkwardness and sadness started creeping up on me.

This, was not going how I had planned.

* * *

><p>Hope you liked it!<p>

_"'


	7. Lunch And maybe a little weirdness

**Uhmm... Hey-a, guys! Long time no see... Heh...**

**Sorry for my inactivity lately, I've had some pretty bad issues... After having and awesome time at camp for a week, I got home to only have one of my cats die the next day, so... Yeah... I haven't been real big on writing... BUT, I made myself do this, so... Yay, I guess?**

* * *

><p>…<p>

I somehow managed to find the will to pick up my pencil again. I started writing, still feeling rather dejected, and it showed in my writing. Not anything big, just small little quirks, odd word choices, flat paragraphs, a noticeable lag in the energy of the writing itself. I would, of course, be able to fix it when I retyped it onto the computer later – as I did with all of my writing – but it was still slightly annoying... Oh well...

I finished the page I was writing on and had almost gotten to the half way point on the next – starting to feel a bit better – when I got hit with the Writer's Block of Doom and couldn't figure out how to continue the story. THAT worsened my mood again.

I was a roller coaster of emotions this morning, apparently.

But... It was okay. This happened often enough. No I'm not bothered. No I didn't just snap my pencil in half or gain freaked out looks from a certain green-skinned boy, crazy paranormalist, and friendly psychopath, and my eye-lid is most _certainly_ not twitching so fast it looks like it's about to rip in a very painful way.

Silly Reader, where do you come up with these ideas? Silly, silly... I'm shaking my head now because of your silliness...

After boredly sketching a few eyeballs and a lightning bolt in the margins of my book, then a large, drooling bunny on the back cardboard-y cover, I lazily glanced up at Sasha to see what she was up to.

With a lazy, slightly out of it gaze, I watched her write in her own notebook, not really processing what I saw, just reading the note she was scribbling down... Something about Super Bunny... Her creation, not mine... You'd have to ask her about it... It's a little hard for me to explain... Okay, so it isn't... I just don't wanna.

None of this really bugged me, I was used to her being a little odd and writing skits for that crazy bunny comic of hers. At least... None of it bugged me until I heard Dib gasp – which, for some strange reason, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up... Heck, I even got goosebumps.

Dib leaned forward – at least as he spun around to sit in it sideways – in his chair, staring at what Sasha was writing, as if the notebook had suddenly turned into a rabbit and flipped him the middle finger.

That's when I realized _exactly_ what Sasha was doing.

She was writing... And doodling... Flipping _Irken_ symbols and writing everything in _Irken_, in plain sight of the OCD King, Dib, no less!

Okay, I should probably explain, though you've all probably already guessed. Sash and I had taught ourselves how to write in Irken, even in short hand... So, yeah, end of story, back to freaking out, now, no more need to indulge in our fangirllish ways.

"Where did you learn that!" Dib almost shouted. His tone was accusatory and almost panicked, but... Also slightly triumphant as he stared at Sasha, as if something had just mentally been proven true...

Oh crab.

"Internet... TV..." Sasha replied absentmindedly, waving a hand. She didn't seem to realize who she was talking to at the moment, she'd gone Distant.

I could only stare at her in shock, my eyes widening and my jaw dropping as Ms. Bitters' doom rant echoed melodramatically in the background. Very fitting background music, actually.

_"Internet?1 _TV? What? Where? Which channel? What website? What **show**?" Dib shot off, making his usual 'Omg-I'm-freaking-out-and-really-excited-and-yelling-at-you-and-you-need-to-explain-this-all-to-me-right-now-with-painstaking-detail' face.

… Is... It sad that I have a name for that face and have it memorized?

Yeah, yeah it is...

Sasha glanced around for a moment, as if trying to find the 'camera', before going back to her 'writing', expression lazy. "This o-"

I snapped out of it then, and did what any 'normal' person would do... I screamed. "OH MY GOD! LOOK AT THAT PLANE, IT'S GOING TO CRASH!" As loudly as I could and pointed out he window at the sky, arm and finger shaking.

To my surprise – _not_, they were all idiots – everyone's head snapped around, including Dib's – which WAS rather surprising – to look at where I was pointing. There was a barrage of 'Huh?''s and 'What, where?''s as I quickly ripped the page out of Sasha's notebook.

"Heeeyyy..." She whined. Ignoring her complaint, I stuffed it into my back pocket, grabbed a surprised Sasha by the front of her shirt, and dragged her and myself under my desk.

_Smoooothly_, of course... I was the Queen of 'Smooth'.

…

I, of course, am also the Queen of Sarcasm... In case you hadn't noticed by now.

"What is _wrong _with you?" I hissed, releasing a yelping Sasha, fists shaking.

She rubbed at her neck for a moment before giving me a creepy grin. _"Many things..."_ She said.

I flicked her in the center of her forehead, ignoring the resulting loud 'OW!' from her. "You know what I mean!" I snapped as she shot me a dirty look, rubbing the spot I'd flicked... I have sharp nails, okay? "We can _not _have _Dib,_ _**or**_ _Zim_ getting too suspicious of us! They could decide to stick their noses where their noses _bloody well_ do _not_ belong, and we could be found out! If they get curious enough – and you _know_ how curious _those_ _two_ are capable of getting – they could decide to do some serious 'investigating'." I made angry air quotes as Sash stared at me, mouth slightly open. "And then who _knows_ what kind of chaos _that_ would bring about!"

I panted as Sash blinked at me. "Oh, come _on!_ I like chaos..." She said, rolling her eyes, not seeming to be bothered by any of this as she crossed her arms. "What harm could it do if we freak them out just a _little_ bit? So what if they think we're aliens or weird or something... It just makes it all the more interesting!" She smiled brightly, yet still retained a slightly pouty look.

"_So __**what?**__"_ I snapped. "_What __**harm?**_ What if, say, one of them, _captured_ us, huh? What then? What if we ended up on an autopsy table? Huh! What then? What if Zim thinks we're after his mission – like _Tak_ – and tries to 'send us away'? Huh? What then? Do _you _want to find out, Sash, do you? Do you want to _die,_ Sasha? That is, a very _real,_ possibility."

Sasha stared at me wide eyed for a moment. "Y-You're always so paranoid." Sasha said, trying to speak confidently. The tremor in her voice, and the way she glanced around, however, betrayed her, _quite _well.

"Being paranoid has often saved my tail." I snapped. "Remember in sixth grade? That dodge ball...?" I waved a hand a little in a circular motion, raising an eyebrow.

Sasha sighed in defeat but smiled. "Yes, I remember... But cool your jets, Casey! We're in _INVADER ZIM_, **try** to enjoy yourself!"

I glared at her smiling face for a few more moments before I sighed in defeat as well. "Fine, fine... I'll loosen up a little... But _please_ just... Be _careful_, okay? This is a really cool, special, psychotic, brilliant, and amazing thing that's happened to us, and I don't wanna mess it up or get hurt. Or get _you_ hurt." I added.

Sasha smirked at me as we slowly crawled out from under the table and back into our seats. "I _am_ trying to improve it." She remarked as we sat down. "Add a little pizazz, ya know?" She waved a hand at me in a chopping motion.

"Leave your 'pizazz' elsewhere for a few days, please and thank you..." I muttered, rolling my eyes as I glanced around. I felt old. Normally I liked a little pizazz... "At least until we know out boundaries..." I muttered.

Most of the kids had since gotten bored of staring at the invisible and silent plane explosion and were back to staring off into space, listening – or not, as seemed to be the case – to Ms. Bitters' never ending 'DOOM' rant. She hadn't even broken stride or stopped when I'd screamed my head off... I had to admit, she was a pretty cool – _creepy_ – lady.

Some of the more idiotic children, however, _were_ still staring out the window expectantly. If they were dogs or cats or something, a good half of them would probably have ears perked and tails wagging – at least in the dog's case – or twitching... Some of them had simply drifted off while staring out the window.

Idiots...

Well, then again, I couldn't blame _them._ Everyone – save for a few exceptions – in this world was an idiot... To an extent...

As I once again grabbed my pencil – this time determined to fight off the Writer's Block – I got the unmistakeable feeling that someone was imagining my untimely demise and doom (I've got Doom Radar) and looked up out of the corner of my eye to see that Dib was, once again _staring_ at me. And no, it wasn't _just_ a stare, it was a _Dib-stare._ You know, when he's got his eyes _really _wide, and his head's so straight and high on his head that it looks like it's going to pop off? (You can see it in the way his neck strains.)

It was... Slightly creepy... But very amusing at the same time.

As soon as our gazes locked, he gave me a spiteful – and starting to become familiar – 'I'm watching you!' look, before he looked back down at his notebook and scribbled something in it.

I caught him glance back up at Sasha and I a few seconds later, and I rolled my eyes at him – even though I was laughing internally – as he quickly looked back down seeming to... Was he? Yes! Ha! Yes, yes he was! He was _blushing_! Ha! Dib's expressions were so funny...

As Sasha started to aimlessly doodle in her notebook – thankfully the doodles were 'Alien Free' – I glanced to my right and saw that Zim had that look on his face that makes you think that he has no mouth – you know, where he sticks out his lip? – and was trying to balance a number 2 pencil _on _said lip, a look of utter concentration on his face as he glared cross-eyed down at it, as if it was the most important mission in his long, Invadery life. As if it was a mission from the Tallests themselves.

I really _did_ laugh out loud this time. _Zim's_ expressions were funny too... As much of a _jerk_ as he is...

Surprised by my sudden – albeit _quiet_ – out burst, the pencil fell off of his lip and landed on the desk with a quiet clatter. He turned his head towards me to send me a 'Suspicious Glare' all wrapped up in loathing for Christmas. Thanks, Zimmers! It's _just_ what I wanted!

"What is so _amusing?_" He snapped, suspiciously of course. _! _That was his middle name... Maybe... Probably not, but still...

My eyes widened for a moment – the great and 'mighty' ZIM twas addressing _me_ this fine day? – before going back to their usual, slightly narrowed and bored, state. No way was _I_ going to be intimidated by _ZIM!_ Ha! No. I was too much of a fangirl to be intimidated, anyway, and Zim was too cute...

…

Well. I just thanked God for the fact that Zim cannot read minds. Thanks, Powers That Be, you guys rock. Keep doing a great job, okay?

"Nothing." I replied causally... Maybe over-doing the 'casualness' of it a little bit... Stupid. Stupid. Stupid...

Zim narrowed his eyes even _more_ at me, before he went back to his pencil, now simply fiddling with it, occasionally sending a glare my way. I wondered if I'd made him a little self-conscious as I looked over at Sash to see her happily doodling away in her notebook, not a care in the world.

Great... I already had both Zim, _and_ Dib suspicious of _me,_ while Sasha was just the 'weird kid'... HA! And I'd been worried that _Sasha_ would blow our cover!

_**SLAM!**_

Oh, and now my face has met the desk. Hello desk!

I groaned as three pairs of eyes settled on me – though it was only a feeling, I didn't know for sure.

"My life is just one big pile of garbage..." I mumbled.

* * *

><p>I don't know how long I planned to have my head resting on my notebook like that, all I do know is that I heard Ms. Bitters' DOOM rant in the back of my mind while, at the forefront, I heard a voice that <em>had<em> to be Zim's mutter something along the lines of 'Pathetic humans and their stupid _sleep._' – which made me smirk – and another voice, Dib's perhaps, muttering to himself about ordering more 'Alien Sleep Cuffs'.

I snorted a small laugh – I tended to 'snort' sometimes, rather than actually laugh – at that, but kept my head down, simply folding my arms over it and groaning nearly inaudibly.

_ Just, __**please**__ let me peacefully lie here in my own self pity!_ I silently begged, hoping that letting my guard down and leaving my arms up here by my head wasn't a mistake.

Well, it _was..._

"Jumper Cables!" Sasha suddenly squealed, jabbing her index and pointer finger into a point at my side a little under my ribs.

I made a loud – slightly girly, I am ashamed to admit – yelping noise and sat straight up, gripping my side at the spot that she'd so _viciously_ poked at, ignoring the slightly interested looks I was receiving from Dib and Zim. "Dude! _WHY?_" I squeaked, turning towards my giggling friend, _trying_ to ignore the look a certain _BIG-HEADED_ kid sitting behind her was sending me.

Sasha grinned at me. "I'm hungry, what time is it?" She asked, nearly _smugly_ – as if she _hadn't_ just jabbed me in the side.

That smug little demon... The _look,_ on her _face!_

_That,_ got to me.

That. Got. To. Me.

I immediately made a cross with my fingers and held it out towards her, and, disregarding the fact that I was in 'Skool' with other people, shouted; "Back foul, demon! _Back!_"

Ms. Bitters didn't even pause her rant.

To my surprise – NOT! – the only ones who were _really_ paying attention to my actions were Zim, Dib, and Sasha... _Well..._ A few of the more frequently appearing students were giving me looks... Eh, but who cares...

Sasha blinked at me. "_Please_ don't go there." She pleaded, knowing very well that _I_ knew that this was _her_ thing.

Well, TOO BAD!

_"The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you!"_ I hissed, putting on my fake 'i'mma priest' voice. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on anyone's religion... I just wanted to annoy Sasha.

_"Cas..."_ Sasha groaned, probably jealous that it wasn't _her_ screaming about demons... Then again, she did that all the time, anyway... She could let _me_ do it for once!

I hopped up, landing on my chair, still holding my 'MIGHTY CROSS FINGERS' out to 'ward her off', and continued. _"The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you! Now, BACK! Back foul demon of meat and hair! Back to the bubbling pit of black tar and acid from which you came! BACK!"_ I shouted, _totally_ not noticing the _completely_ freaked out looks I was receiving. The most freaked out coming from Big-Head and Bug-Boy...

…

_Awww..._ I've got pet names for them now! Yay! SEE what banishing demons gets you? Cute – aka _annoying_ – pet names for your 'friends'...

There was a moment of silence as I stared down at Sasha and she stared up at me, blinking. I'd started panting, having gotten myself worked up.

After a minute, I lowered my hands, clearing my throat as I did so, and sat back down. "Ahem... As you were saying?" I asked, all traces of 'The Power of Christ Compels You'-ness gone from my voice as I blushed in embarrassment.

Way to go Casey, you've completely embarrassed yourself... _AGAIN!_

ID-I-OT!

Sasha stared at me, face completely blank, for a few moments... Then she promptly burst into a fit of laughter. I, of course, waited patiently for her to calm down, just like anyone else who was friends with her would have done...

…Okay, so _maybe_ someone _else_ would've slowly backed out of the room, but that's besides the point. I was used to her.

"Are you quite finished?" I asked politely, arms crossed as Sash started calming herself down, hands over her mouth.

Sasha gasped a few times, glancing up at me from her slightly doubled over position. "W-What was _that?_" She choked. I saw Dib leaning forward in his seat behind her, my position making it look like he'd just popped out from behind her. Big-Head sent me a glare.

I stuck my tongue out at him as I twisted around to sit sideways, setting my elbow on the table with my head resting on my hand. "I'm orange juice deprived, what do you expect?" I asked nonchalantly, waving a hand.

Sasha laughed at me. "That you'd be a little more NORMAL, since when you _do_ have orange juice, you're a raving mad, random quote spurting, _maniac!_ Can't you find a balance between the two crazies?"

"_Ineptias!_ There _is_ no balance..." I muttered, eye twitching – yet I was secretly surprised that I'd remembered that Latin... Honestly, I'd only _browsed _the internet! _Once!_ "And you should talk, _spork-__girl!_" I taunted.

"That has _nothing_ to do with anything!" Sasha cried, trying to defend herself.

We often did this, poking fun at one another... We both knew that we were only joking... And we both knew when to stop... Usually...

I waved a hand at her. "Nonsense, it has absolutely EVER- wait, no... You're right, it's got nothing to do with anything." I said. "So... What were you asking me again?"

"What. Time. Is. It. I. Am. HUNGRY!" Said Sasha _emphasizing_ every word in case I didn't get it... Jerk.

"Uh, it's..." I said, looking down at my wrist as I realized how hungry I was too. Man, I should-a had a better breakfast...

_**Brrrrriiinnnnggg!**_

"... Lunch time, apparently." I deadpanned as my eyes fell upon the digital '12:00' my watch was now displaying.

"Go! Eat your horrid food, you filthy vermin-children!" Ms. Bitters ordered, pointing a spindly arm at the door. "Hopefully you will choke on it and have an epiphany as to how horribly doomed you _truly _are!"

What a cheerful woman.

There was a collective cheer – riddled with random and somewhat grotesque animal noises – as the kids all rushed to get to lunch. Surprised by this, Sasha and I ended up being the last students in the classroom. Right behind none other than Zim and Dib, who had started arguing... Something about toasters...? Oh, I don't know! Besides, we had more pressing matters than who's race's toaster could toast better...

As if _toasters_ defined the superior species! Wait... No! No! I was NOT going to get sucked into it! (though OUR toasters _were_ pretty awesome...) WAITAMINUTE, NO! Stop it brain!

"It _can not_ be lunch already!" I whispered to Sasha, tucking my things into my bag before swinging it back onto my back, eying the two squabbling boys. "We were only here for, like, what? A half hour? An hour?"

"But didn't you say that time skips around here because it's a cartoon? It probably just skipped." Sasha said, seemingly more focused on the argument Zim and Dib were having as they left the classroom than this anomaly.

"... True..." I murmured, tucking my hands behind my back as we followed the two arguing males down the hall. _Why_ were we following them? Well, A.) they were Zim and Dib, and B.) I'd forgotten where the lunchroom was... And Sasha never payed attention long enough to know, anyway.

… What? _You_ don't know how to get there, either!

But seriously, I know that time here was weird... But not _this_ weird! Not 'it's-lunch-exactly-when-you-say-you're-hungry' weird!

I continued musing over the weird way that time seemed to pass in this world – the quote; _"People assume that time is a straight progression from cause to effect. When actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective view-point, time is more like a big ball of… wibbly-wobbly… timey-wimey… stuff."_ running through my head with me wondering how very true it could be – as Sash and I followed the two arguing males down grease stained halls.

Occasionally, Sasha would nudge me and tell me to pay attention, and not a second later, something funny would be said, or someone would push someone else... I wasn't exactly paying attention though, I was more worried about the state of this Universe and how it could be affecting my brain...

It took a few more minutes, but soon enough, we rounded a corner and reached the cafeteria door as it swung shut in Dib and Zim's faces, gaining equal growls of anger from them both. God, I could smell the horribly disgusting 'food' they served here already. It was utterly _sickening..._ But, eh, I was hungry... Plus, the only thing that _really_ grossed me out, food-wise, was Chinese food, slimy looking vegetables (and most vegetables in general) and – shudder - _soft,_ cooked carrots.

My hands held behind my back, my eyes shifted to the two – still squabbling – boys in front of us, and my eye started twitching in annoyance. They had both stopped in the middle of the two doors, Dib on the left, Zim on the right, and each had one hand holding their respective door open as they yelled at each other. NOT. MOVING.

It, at any other given time, probably would have made me smile and/or laugh, maybe even join in, but now, with my mind distracted by the weirdness of time and reality here, the fact that I was tired because my inner-clock still firmly believed that it was summer, the _other _fact that I'd yet to have any _orange juice_, added all together with just about a _million_ other things... It was just really, _really_ annoying and _stupid._

… Then again, their conversation _was_ sorta funny, in a _stupid_ kind of way. But still, that _was_ always why I'd loved, errr... _Love_ the show...

It was stupid, but in many ways... It was pretty dead clever.

I _guess_ that you could say that the show and I could... _Relate._

I sighed a little, finally tuning into the boy's argument since, really, there wasn't anything _better _for me to do... And it _was_ kinda funny...

"So, ZIM," Dib was saying, pointing a finger at the little green 'boy' accusingly as said 'boy' gave him a reproachful look. Sasha just giggled at it all and I myself smirked. "You're saying that toast is better... ON YOUR _PLANET?_" He franticly looked around at the kids in the lunch room, a very; '_come __**on**__, _how are you not HEARING this?' look on his face. He turned his gaze back onto Zim, eyes now narrowed into accusatory slits when no one responded.

"_NONSENSE!_" Zim said in an over-exaggerated voice as, just barely, he began to sweat. He was, apparently, realizing that he'd walked right into this one.

I was then surprised greatly when he started to speak again. Zim sure could make up a lie quick when he needed to...

"What I was simply _implying_, idiot pig-smelly, was that if I _was_ from this **imaginary** planet as you say, then I am _sure _that _our_ toast would be _far_ more superior than _your _pathetic toast!" Zim pointed out, using his all-too familiar 'I AM NORMAL' tone of voice and crossing his arms.

As I let out a sigh, covering my face with my hand because I was blushing – I couldn't watch. Not when I was feeling slightly embarrassed for the both of them – and Sasha started to giggle, something I had half a mind to do myself, Dib turned to the lunch room full of excited and talking kids that were _trying _to ignore the crazy big-headed boy and the weird green one.

"HA!" Dib shouted triumphantly. "He said 'our'! 'OUR'! That _proves_ that he's not human! A _normal_ human would have said _they!_"

I blinked at the smiling Dib before shaking my head. "That's just pathetic and stupid to the point of pity..." I stated as Sasha giggled shrilly, trying to stifle it and cover her mouth to no avail. She just 'kept on a-giggling'.

"You're crazy." A purple haired – Zita – girl said from her spot at a near by table. Laughter promptly erupted from all of the children in the lunch room, save for Sasha and I who, firstly, did not think it all that funny, and secondly, weren't exactly _in_ the lunch room.

"Pathetic meat-child!" Zim snickered.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Dib.

I'd, actually, been in the same position more than once – where everyone's just... _Laughing_ at you... It hurt. It hurt a lot... Especially since, once not that long ago, I had fallen in the gym and broken my foot/sprained my ankle – possible the worst pain in the world, the memory still makes me feel sick... Especially when I remember when I'd accidentally rolled my ankle after getting the cast off. Ooooooohhh! No! Not going to think about it! Bleh! No! No way brain, shut up! – and people just... Laughed...

They didn't care...

I was laying there, on the ground, eyes shut tightly and holding my foot and _crying my eyes out_ and they just _laughed. _I could hear them all as I cried, just _laughing_ at me and not _helping..._ Making fun of me. Calling me fat and wondering if _China was having and earth_-quake, or if I'd _cracked the floor boards_.

No wonder I hate people so much...

For a split second, I felt either very close to bawling my eyes out and leaving and/or simply sitting down to submit to self-pity and despair, or coming to Dib's defense – not in a way that would get Zim in trouble, of course not – but doing it nonetheless.

I honestly don't know which one I would've done because Dib suddenly frowned at the lunch room, making a frustrated sort of noise in the back of his throat. He glared at them all for a moment, before – surprise, surprise – he turned his gaze back onto Zim... And then _us?_

Insert comical 'gulp' here, please.

"Well at least _I_ don't need the help of _two_ other aliens to conquer _one_ simple planet!" Dib retorted at Zim, who suddenly got a 'sour lemon' sort of look on his face. "What kind of training do you get anyway, _Zim._ 'Cause from what I've seen, it's pretty dumb!" The raven haired boy scoffed.

I half wanted to say 'Very good training Dib!' – as you can probably tell, I really do not like bullying – but, then again, that wouldn't be the _wisest_ of moves. So instead, I mentally settled for thinking; _Crab... He does think we're aliens... CRAB!_

I shot a dirty look at Dib and Sasha just shot him a slightly confused look as Zim gave Dib a look. Lots of eyeballin' today, people. "What nonsense do you speak, Dib-_worm?_" He snapped, spitting his words as if they tasted absurdly sour.

Dib looked confused by his speech patterns – I, on the other hand, had been watching the show long enough to know what he meant – before sending Zim a pointed look, as if mentally saying; 'I'm not THAT dumb!'

It took Zim a moment, but after a second, his eyes widened and he pointed at us. "_Them?_" He asked in disbelief.

Wow, he actually got it... WHEN THE HECK did ZIM get smart, anyway?

I gave a loud and over-exaggerated sort of sigh as Zim narrowed one eye suspiciously at us. "Honestly..." I muttered under my breath, crossing my arms.

I _really_ didn't need this right now... I glanced past them and at the lunch line. I was angry, depressed, sad, and shuttering slightly from the memory of rolling my not-quite-healed ankle. I was just wished I had some orange juice to calm my nerves. It would allow me to enjoy all of this... Well, all of _this._

"W-We're not _aliens_, or anything, if _that's_ what you're thinking!" Sasha quickly assured Zim, holding her hands up. I was a little surprised that she was even trying... I must have gotten to her earlier... She suddenly elbowed me in the ribs. "Right, Casey?" She asked when Dib too narrowed his eyes at us. She sent me a hopeful look that I missed.

I gave a jump and a hiss of pain, shocked out of my contemplative and longing glare and looked at my friend. "Eh, _what?"_ I asked, not in the mood to be poked, prodded, hit, or elbowed at all.

I never was... And there had yet to be a time _when_ I was... And today was _not _the day.

I simply did not like to be touched all that much. Like, if someone caught me buy surprise, I'd jump or yelp, or react violently – like punch them or yell at them... But, well, if I was expecting it, or if I'd touched someone myself – like punched their shoulder or held their hand or hugged them – I could handle it...

And it was all kinda weird, too... 'Cause I was actually a really affectionate person... You know... If there ever was someone for me to be affectionate _with..._

I don't know _why_ I was so... _Jumpy_ around others... But I've gotten off topic.

_"Right?"_ Sasha repeated, and I got the hint, somewhat.

"Oh of _course_ not." I said, trying – and failing – to keep the sarcasm – or British 'I'm annoyed' accent – out of my voice as I refocused on the lunchroom longingly. I felt very bitter and I wanted _foooood_, dang it! Was that too much to ask? "We are absobloodylutely _not_ any kind of little..." I raised a hand out of it's crossed state to wiggle my fingers in a very Zimmish way (Which probably wasn't very wise). "Paranormal _thing._" I finished, recrossing my arms.

Dib's eyes narrowed suspiciously at us behind his glasses. "You didn't deny that you were _aliens _though!" He said. I recognized the look on his face almost immediately. He was about to scream 'ALIENS!' and go on a full-out 'Dib Rant' about how we were going to 'destroy the Earth' or whatever.

When I saw Zim slowly backing away, my suspensions were confirmed. Dib was about to go on a rant... And that sneaky little rat, ZIM, was going to use it to his advantage and slip away while The Dib's attention was focused on us.

That little devil.

I frowned, aggravated. This would only prove to be a pointless annoyance and prolong me and my orange juice's happy, blissful reunion. If I could get some of that – or rather, if I had HAD any orange juice this morning – I could figure out some clever way to get the attention back onto Zim, where it should be. Now if only there _was_ some...

I happened to glance past Dib – wondering if Sash and I should just bolt for it before Dib tried to tackle us and put us in 'alien sleep cuffs', and at the lunch line, just as a kid with a red hair and a sad expression – Keef I think – moved out of the way, revealing... Revealing...

My savior.

My baby.

My soul mate.

My _everything._

Without meaning to, a smile slowly crawled out and onto my face and, guessing by Dib's, Zim's, and even _Sasha's_ – who was actually _used_ to me – looks, it was a rather spooky one.

"_There_ it is..." I practically purred, uncrossing my arms and continuing my grin.

"What are you talking abou-" Dib started, voice conveying how creeped out he was.

I never let him finish.

With an excited squeal that could probably call any and all fangirls within a twenty mile perimeter to my location, one that caused both Dib and Sasha to cringe – and the escaping Zim to fall over – I ran, nay, very nearly _teleported_ to the lunch line, gaining _lots _of strange looks.

What? I don't 'squeal'. Like, ever. And when I do... It's unusual and _pretty_ frightening.

Also, this was probably the first time anyone in Skool had seen someone squealing and running _towards_ the lunch food and not _away._

Yep, today was a weird day for everyone.

I reached the now empty lunch line and grabbed two of the objects of my desire. I hugged them to myself, grinning so much by now that by tongue stuck out of my mouth a little bit and my face hurt.

Odd, I hadn't thought that I'd 'tongue-grin' here without meaning to... This Universe was odd...

Meh.

"What was _that_ about?" Sasha asked, joining me as behind us, Zim and Dib both crawled – literally or figuratively – to their tables... Well, Zim sat down while Dib hovered a little ways away from us, scowling. He seemed to not want to get to close to us... But still see what we were up to...

Slowly, ever so slowly, so slowly that I _creaked,_ I turned around, revealing the creepy smile on my face... And the two lunch-sized cartons of orange juice I had clutched to my chest like they were my very own children. I had tears in my eyes as I whispered; "I... I'm so _happy..._"

Dib made a scoffing noise that I ignored as Sasha stared at me. She looked like she half wanted to laugh, and half wanted to make a sarcastic remark. She opened her mouth – finally, after a few seconds – to comment, when something in the lunch line behind me caught her eye... And she let out one of the most shrill, and happy shrieks that I'd EVER heard leave her mouth. She pushed me aside a bit roughly – not that I cared, I was in heaven – and lunged at a small container filled with white pieces of plastic wrapped in _clear_ plastic packaging.

My psychotic friend had just found the Skool's spork supply.

God help us all...

_Normally,_ I would have stopped Sasha from going overboard on the sporks, but as over-come with happiness as I was at the moment, I hardly batted an eye as she started to stuff the utensils into he pockets, giggling maniacally. I didn't even notice Dib's interested and slightly freaked out look as he hovered behind us, scribbling down notes in a small notebook.

When she had fully depleted the supplies, I grabbed yet another small carton of orange juice, and we continued down the line, not really noticing the hovering Dib as he got himself a tuna sandwich and an apple... Then went straight back to taking notes. Sasha grabbed us some trays and we got ourselves our lunches.

For Sash: Mystery Meat – for she was braver than I – milk, an apple, and something that looked like a PB&J sandwich, but it fused with the Mystery Meat halfway down the line, creating a PB&J 'Meat' sandwich of some kind. Sasha 'oooh'-ed and said it looked delicious. I took one look at it and blew a distasteful raspberry in it's general direction. The 'food' then proceeded to jiggle and growl at me, so I thought it wise to shut the H up.

For myself: A simple bagel with some cream cheese FOR the bagel, and a fruit cup with... What looked like an _eyeball _(?) in it...

Gross... But cool. Perhaps even edible? … Nah, but still cool! I'd just poke it a little... A _little._

After paying for our 'food' Sasha looked around the lunch room for a table – I pausing to watch Dib stalk away from us, glaring, and to a table with his scowling sister (Gaz!) sitting there. That's when we both spotted the last empty table – no way were we sitting by any of the _jerky_ background/filler characters! – _right_ in between Zim's table, and the Membrane sibling's table!

Thank you, serendipity!

We quickly took our seats, Sasha swooning over all her new 'weapons', – which she'd lain out on the table to admire – fondling one especially sharp one in her hands, and I cracked one of my orange juices open, giving it a big sniff. Ah... The best smell in the universe – at least one of the best – orange juice. So sweet, so delicious, so life sustaining!

Sasha happened to notice my... Admittedly weird behavior, and raised an eyebrow at me, half grinning. "Why do you have to _obsess _over it like that?" She asked, slightly unnerved.

I paused in my inspecting of my _wonderful_ juice to raise my own eyebrow at her. "Well, at least I'm not obsessing over a _spork_." I ignored her unhappy look and continued. "And besides," my voice took on a mournful, zombieish tone. _"I need it to liiiivvveee..."_ I hissed, my free non-orange juice occupied hand clawing and shaking for emphases. It helped that my eye twitched, too.

As Sasha started laughing at me, I couldn't help but notice that a certain _big-HEADED_ kid had started speaking... Of course, I half ignored him... But one couldn't help but listen when _you_ were the topic of a conversation.

"Did you hear that, Gaz? Huh?" Dib hissed excitedly, leaning towards his Game-Slave wielding sister.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noted that she looked just the same as she had in the series... At least... At the beginning. Her hair and face shape were noticeably more... Soft, than they had been at the end of the series... In fact... Everything was, kinda, in the same _style_ as it had been in in the beginning of the series... Hmm... That was odd... But interesting... I wonder if it meant anything...

Or, maybe, I was just being paranoid. Eh, whatever. I tended to be paranoid a lot.

"She said _live,_ Gaz, _**live.**_ Normal humans don't need orange juice to **live,** Gaz!" Dib continued, his eyes narrowing evilly. He smirked a little, as if he had an 'bad' – for us at least – idea. "We're not sustained by _juice..._ They're both_ obviously_ aliens, just like ZIM, and are here to help take over all mankind! I just _know_ it!" He paused. "Either that, or they're some kind or paranormal _evil demon spawn,_ or something... I mean, that Casey girl practically _admitted_ it! AND, that other one, Sasha? Well, she pretty much _acts _like one!"

Gaz frowned, annoyed. Why couldn't her _stupid _brother just be _quiet_ for once? "_I_ need _my_ **Game-Slave** to live, Dib." She snapped, then did a very bad impression of his voice, pausing her game momentarily. "_**I**__ must be an alien too, huh, Dib?_" Gaz mocked before going back to her game. "Be **quiet.**" She snapped.

I snickered quietly, nearly choking on my orange juice. I set it down and started to cough a little, but still laughed. "What? What?" Sasha asked, staring at me as I simply shook my head. How she couldn't have heard was beyond me. Dib wasn't that far away! … Then again, it _was_ a little loud in here... Or rather, a _really_ loud... How had _I _heard it, anyway?

"But _Gaz!_" Dib whined. "Just look at her! She's _inhaling_ it!"

Gaz made a 'Pffft' sort of noise and rolled her eyes. "SO? Shut up Dib, your voice is annoying me."

I laughed again, this time gaining the attention of Dib – who shot a glare at me – and the attention of Sasha... Who dealt a sharp punch to my arm. "OW!" I shouted, and turned to glare at her. "WHAT?" I snapped. I'd been enjoying the conversation, sure, and been ignoring her constant 'what?'-ing, but she didn't need to punch me! "What dost thou seek of me?" I said, my voice sounding as stupid as that probably looks in type.

"_Caseeeeey,_ what are you laughing _aaaaat_?" Sasha said, voice pleading. "Cas! Cassy! Casey? Castiel-" She gasped at almost the exact same time my face lost all it's blood. I stared at her in horror as she slowly brought her hands up to cover her mouth.

It had been an accident, I knew it had, but it had been an accident I'd been hoping to avoid, a similarity I'd noticed that I'd hoped, feverishly, she _wouldn't_ notice.

Curse you 'Supernatural'... And curse YOU Misha Collins... Curse you and all your brilliant, angelic TV glory... And your _face._ Your beautiful, freaking, _face._

"Sasha... No." I said slowly as a grin started spreading over her face. "Noooo..." I moaned. All hope was now lost...

"It all makes sense now..." Sasha said slowly, looking starry eyed. I ducked my head and looked around, seeing that both Zim and Dib were both staring at her, well, us, and that some of the other students were staring at us too. I wasn't _really_ embarrassed, not for myself, more so for Sash.

"Sasha, _stop._" I hissed.

"No, no." Sasha said, waving a hand at me. To my surprise she stood up, staring down at me, that insane grin still plastered on her face.

Oh no, she was going in to 'Me' mode. She was gonna 'pull a Casey' and go on a rant, like I did... Aww, crab... That wasn't good... Do you _know_ how I can GET?

"Don't you get it? It all makes sense now! My obsession with sporks? Our mutual inanity, you freaking out whenever I do something bad? _You're Castiel!_" She pointed at me, then at herself. "And I'M A DEMON, aren't I?"

I face palmed, ignoring the triumphant "I KNEW IT!" From the near-by Dib. "Sasha, no. Just – no. I am not Castiel, and you are not a Demon..."

"B-But, it makes sense!" Sasha protested, staring at me. "And you-"

"Sasha!" I suddenly laughed, looking up at her. "No! Of _all_ the things in the entire _universe_ that I _could_ be, why _that?_"

Sasha stubbornly crossed her arms. "But it makes SENSE. You're just _like_ him too!"

I glared at her. "Um, how?" I found it a little odd that we were so easily slipping into this familiar type of conversation – not that the actual _conversation_ was familiar or anything, just the way we were speaking... And that Dib hadn't yet come storming over here... Wait, no... I could hear him now, closer, closer... Persistent little devil, wasn't he?

"Well..." Sasha faltered. "... Hey! Don't put this on me! You can explain this stuff better than I can!"

True, I _could_ see what she was getting at, sorta, but still... "Sasha, I'm not..."

"Yeeesss you aaarrrrrreeee..." Sasha said, grinning and pointing a finger at me. She wiggled it a little. "Admit it! No lying!"

Okay, that was it. I wasn't lying, and I didn't _like_ being told that I was. "Sasha..." I started slowly, then suddenly stood up, throwing up my arms and unwittingly knocking Dib back. "I am _not an angel!_"

I ignored Dib's 'Oof!' of pain as Sasha stared down at me, slumping slightly. We stared at each other for a moment in silence. As we did, Dib got back to his feet sending me a glare – that I _ignored_ – as he rubbed the back of his head, grumbling. I was starting to think that I'd won, so I slowly sat down and reached for my orange juice again, when...

"Yes you aaarrrreee..."

I whipped my head around and glared at her smug face, about to yell at her, but no, an idea had just occurred to me... A very annoyance inducing idea.

I smirked at her as she sat down. I continued smirking at her until she noticed, and at her confused 'what?' I spoke. "Fine..." I started. "If you really _do_ think that I am Castiel... Then _you're _Dean!"

"Fine with me." Sasha said, starting to shrug, then suddenly, her pupils shrank and she froze. She turned her gaze onto me, and shook her head. "No..." She muttered. "No, you're not going to... You wouldn't dare..."

Oh yes I would.

I smirked at her maliciously and suddenly assumed the most girly 'swooning' pose I could muster, my arm over my forehead, a love-struck look on my face. "Oh, Dean!" I cried dramatically. "Dean, my love! Come! Ascend with me into heaven! Let us leave this all behind!"

"EW!" Sasha squealed in terror, scooting away from me. "Ew, Casey, _stop!_" She started laughing and so did I, only stopping to make kissy faces at her, resulting in yet another 'EW!' from her.

"But, Dean! I could show you heaven! You could see your father and mother again, and heaven has so much beer!"

Sasha let out another 'Ew!' as we started laughing again.

Ah, I loved freaking my friend out... And this was a rather entertaining way to do so.

"What are you _doing?_"

Sash and I froze and spun around in our seats to see Dib giving us a bemused sort of look, arms crossed. I blushed in embarrassment while Sasha just started laughing her butt off again. "Uhmmm..." I started, staring at the now narrow eyed Dib. "Nooootthiinnggg...?"

Dib glared at me. "Yeah. Sure, uh-huh." He said before stalking back to his seat, rubbing at the new bump on his head and ignoring Gaz's smirk.

Blushing furiously, I went back to my lunch, now poking at it unhappily. When Sasha gave me a half-suppressed smile I sent her a glare. "Never. Again." I muttered, which prompted her to start laughing... Again.

This was the most normal conversation we'd had in this Universe so far... And that was great, yeah, but I'd forgotten something.

Sasha and I were freaks in _any_ Universe...

And we were about to learn, _just _how freaky we were...

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><p><strong>Well, Ta-Da! The end of this chapter... Yay.<strong>

**I'd just like to say that I based the 'ankle' and 'jumpyness' that Casey had on myself. Yes, the ankle thing really did happen... So, yeah, Read and Review, I guess...**


	8. Anger

**Well hello everyone! Looky here, an update, and much quicker than last time!**

**First off, I would just like to thank you all for your reviews and kind words, they ceritantly made me feel better, and I am so glad and thankful towards all of you who have continuously followed and reviewed this story.**

**It really makes my day when I open the internet and see that I have a new review. And a kind one at that.**

**Well, first off - since I have not done it in a while - I ****DO NOT**** own Invader Zim. (cries) I only own Casey and have partial ownership over Sasha, who's main creator was/is **Psycho Invader **whom I am glad to see has commented on this and read it.**

**Oh, also, 50 BLOODY REVIEWS! OH MY GOSH, thank you all so much!**

**Ahem, I ALSO do not own **Good Charlotte... **sadly.**

**But onwards! To the story!**

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><p>…<p>

Sasha calmed herself down after a moment, and I managed a small grin. "You done?" I asked curiously. I didn't want anymore potentially ego degrading happenings today, nuh-uh. No thank you, give me the return address for _that_ gift, please.

Sasha snorted. "_Yeah_, that's enough teasing for one day." She laughed. "Maybe." She added in a 'creepy' tone.

"It'd better be." I muttered, finishing my first carton of orange juice and grabbing my second. "Any more embarrassment and I might just die."

"I didn't know that embarrassment was fatal..." Sasha mused, then got a very devious look on her face. She looked at me, grinning.

I groaned. "I _really_ need to stop giving you ideas..." I said, looking at her sideways as she started eating her mutant PB&J and Mystery Meat hybrid of a sandwich. I was secretly waiting for something to happen... Most likely something bad. No good could come of that sandwich. No Good I say.

"Nah, keep doing what you're doing." Sasha said, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes. Nub.

For a while, lunch was pretty calm, you know, other than the DEATH GLARES Dib occasionally sent us and the EVIL PLOTTING/CURIOSITY ones Zim sent us. Yep. Calm. Just a bunch of kids chatting it up – save for the weird and insane kids and the scary ones... Aka, us.

I was drinking my last orange juice and poking at my fruit cup curiously, watching the eye twitch with a morbid curiosity, as Sasha played with her sporks – making the first _Leaning Tower Of Sporks_, by the look of it – when something caught my attention.

"... _So_ what do you think of those two _new_ kids?" I heard a female voice ask in a low whisper.

My spine abruptly stiffened and I sat up a little straighter, my hand slowing to a stop in it's relentless poking of my fruit cup. My ears pricked and my eyes narrowed in concentration.

I couldn't help it. I've always had good hearing – both a blessing and a curse – and I always seemed to tune in automatically to different parts of conversations. Usually it was just the weird stuff, but sometimes – a lot of times, actually – I tuned into things like this. I was... A figurative radio, I guess...

I recognized the voice as Zita's – it was that slightly nasally squeaky tone that I _kinda_ liked – and I recognized it easily. I peeked at the 'popular' table out of the corner of my eye, eyebrow raised in interest. Who was she talking to anyway?

"What, you mean those two girls over there?" I heard a voice filled with contempt ask. It was the blond girl – Jessica – who was talking about Zim in... Oh, Bestest Friend or whatever it was called. "You have them in your class, right?"

"Ugh, _yeah_." I heard Zita say. "As if we need any _more _weirdos in that class. I mean, we already have crazy _Dib_ and that green weirdo _Zim,_ why do we have to get all the _bad _new kids?"

I actually smirked at that. No, I wasn't really that offend. I'd been called weird enough times that it bounced right off of me, and, honestly, I found it to be a complement. So did Sash, usually. So, we were the 'new' weird kids in class, huh? Duly noted.

_You really shouldn't be proud of that..._ A small part of me whispered. A part that I ignored.

Darn, getting embarrassed had bashed my confidence a little... Now my worries were slipping through the cracks...

Either that, or I was hearing voices because I was insane.

I was honestly on the fence when it came to which one was the real answer.

"Did you _see_ them the other day?" Jessica asked, leaning in closer. The other girls at the table leaned in too, even that one girl that looked a little like 'Dora the Explore'. I think that she was the one who was knocked over by Zim in the first episode when he was fleeing from Dib..."When they signed up here or whatever?" She continued.

"Yeah!" The Dora girl said with a nod. I ought to ask for her name. "That Casey girl or whatever was _dragging_ her down the hall! Who _does_ that?"

Well ME of course.

"AND, did you see that Sasha girl outside? After that weird Casey girl threw her into the rain, she _freaked _out! She was running around like she was STABBED or something!" Sara – the long haired, big eyed girl wearing the dark dress – said, folding her arms. "That Sasha girl's crazy."

_True._ I agreed silently. _So true._

"Not even that," Jessica said, "I mean, that Casey girl is weird and creepy and a freak all, AND kinda insane – but _totally _not as insane as Dib – but that Sasha girl, she's like a freak too, _and_ crazy, but she's like, _mentally retarded _or something, too! I mean, she's obsessed with _sporks_ of all things! How'd she even GET into school, anyway?"

I wasn't aware that my fist had closed until my orange juice exploded all over the table, gaining a few laughs from some of the other kids. I hardly felt the juice dripping from my face, or saw it on my glasses lenses or my now shaking fist as I stood up, wiping it off with a napkin that shook in my hand.

"Casey, no, don't!" I heard Sasha say quickly, and I looked down to see her staring up at me wide eyed. She'd heard it too. "I don't care, really! They're just a couple of jerks. They don't bug me! Cas?"

I knew she didn't care. I knew it didn't bug her. But it bugged _me._ It ticked _me _off.

"Stay here." I muttered angrily, grabbing the cup of cream cheese that I had gotten for my bagel with a shaking fist and dropping the napkin. I could feel my eye twitching as I stepped over the bench and started stalking over to the popular girl's table. Only being noticed by my fellow 'freaks' as it were – Zim and Dib.

_How dare she?_ I thought as I stalked towards their table, fists clenched at my sides. I was slowly gaining the attention of the other kids as I passed – their heads were raising as if they could sense my rage – but I didn't notice. I didn't **care**. _How __**dare **__she? How dare that __**ignorant**__... That __**monster**__... That __**egotistical**__, __**little**__**, **__**stupid**__...__**!**_

No one at the 'popular' table noticed me until I had grabbed Jessica by the shoulder, spun her around, and practically _punched_ the small container of cream cheese into her _'pretty'_ face, hearing a satisfying thud as my hand met her face through the plastic.

The lunchroom half fell silent and half burst into interested murmuring as Jessica let out a shriek of surprise and rage. _"UGH! OWWW!"_ She shouted, wiping the stuff off of her face as her friends stared up at me in shock. I stood there, leaning forward slightly, fists clenched and teeth grinding together. "What the _heck?_" Jessica squealed, glaring at me as she wiped the cream cheese on her face. She took one look down at her shirt and let out another cry of rage. "_Look_ at what you did to my_ shiirrtt!_ This was new! It cost me _sooo_ much!" She yelled, then glared at me. "Why would you do that, you fre-"

"_**LOOK!**_" I shrieked, voice going so high it nearly cracked. Her mouth snapped shut as I leered over her, glaring. "I don't **CARE** if you call me a _freak_. I don't **CARE** if you call me _crazy_, or _weird_, or _**any-BLOODY-thing**_ else, but _when you insult Sasha. When you call her mentally __**retarded**__, when you __**assume**__ that you are __**above**__ others and that you have the __**right**__ to __**degrade**__ someone else in that way, to actually __**try**__ to hurt them, belittle them, __**then**__ I care. __**THEN,**__ I have a problem._" I leaned forward suddenly, pointing a finger at her and digging my nail into her shoulder, eyes nearly shut as I glared at her. "So _LISTEN UP_ you little idiotic **wench,** and **shut up.** 'Cause _next time,_ it _ain't_ gonna be something as nice as _cream cheese_ hitting your 'pretty little face', it's gonna be something that screws your face up so bad that you'll be considered only _very _ugly at a far distance, and unbelievably_, inconceivably _ugly a few feet closer! So GO TO PURGATORY YOU LITTLE **RAT!**" And with that shriek still ringing in the air, I spun around and stalked out of the cafeteria, kicking the garbage cans over as I went.

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><p>…<p>

The cafeteria was silent for a full six seconds before it broke into excited murmuring. Sasha watched as Jessica stuttered out a "F-Freak." Before turning back to her friends, who concernedly asked if she was alright.

"Cas..." Sasha murmured, staring after the place her friend had disappeared. She quickly stuffed her sporks into her pockets before getting up and dashing into the hall Cas had disappeared into, not even bothering to take away her tray and dump her garbage, seeing as the garbage was all over the floor now.

Zim was staring after them with interest, a calculating look slowly spreading over his face. That Casey girl certainly was... _Persuasive... _He grinned down at his food, a plot starting to form.

"Gaz," Dib said, staring at the hall the two had disappeared into, eyes wide. He didn't notice Zim's look, and if he had, he might've been just _slightly_ concerned over it...

"What?" Was the apathetic reply. Apparently, Gaz wasn't impressed by the little shouting fit she'd just witnessed.

"That was _so_ not human."

"Mhhm.

"And also, Gaz?"

"_What,_ Dib?"

"... Remind me to never get that thing mad at me."

"Mhhm."

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><p>…<p>

"Cas...?"

I looked up in surprise at the sound of Sasha's voice. I'd run outside after my yelling fit so that I didn't yell at anyone else and had hid behind a tree in the playground, far away from the kids already outside. I'd buried my face in my arms, drawing my knees to my chest, and let out a stream of muted curses that would've melted the ears off of my mother.

_I hated her, I hated her, I __**hated **__her!_ She was such a pretentious little, spoiled brat and I HATED HER! I knew that freaking out and yelling wasn't the best choice – I was probably going to get into trouble – but I didn't care! She just made me so MAD! How dare she talk like that! NO ONE made fun of MY friends, NO ONE! Cartoon character or other-wise, you do that, you're on my hit list!

I admit, I half wanted to cry. I was just so _mad._ And _frustrated. Why_ did people have to be such JERKS anyway? Why couldn't we just be nice to one another?

Sasha sat down next to me, looking worried. "You okay, Cas? You... Kinda f-freaked out back there for a moment." She laughed nervously at that.

I blinked slowly at her, eyes wide, before I managed a crooked sort've smile and wiped at my eyes, though I wasn't crying yet. Naw. I didn't cry... And I wasn't gonna cry over some bully. "Y-Yeah." I laughed, "I... I'm fine. Just... A little sad and a little angry." I grinned a little wider, if only slightly. "Sorry about all that..."

Sash grinned at me. "It's okay, Cas! Actually, that was kinda awesome!" She elbowed me a little. "Liked the Purgatory reference. Maybe the 'dragons' will get her?"

I couldn't help but laugh. Good ol' Sasha. She wasn't concerned about the fact that she'd been bullied, or that I had blown up, she was more concerned over the fact that I'd used a _'Supernatural'_ reference. "Yeah, maybe!" I sniffed, smiling and wiping at my eyes a little, though I admittedly didn't want _that._ I didn't hate her _that_ much...

We sat in silence for a moment. I could hear more kids leaving the building and coming outside for recess, and I awkwardly scratched at the ground. I felt embarrassed now. That had been a little dramatic of me, geeze, I already regretted it. I bet I was already the topic of discussion in all the gossip circles – Casey, _the psycho girl._

Heh. Funny. _Sasha_ was the crazy one...

_Real smart, idiot. Make yourself look like a complete psychopath on your first day. A real trend-setter that is._

_Oh shut up!_ I thought angrily at myself.

"That _was_ kinda stupid of you, though..." Sasha admitted sheepishly. "You kinda just made an enemy, you know? And I bet Dib's gonna go crazy over this..."

"Ah, belt up!" I snapped. "I _know_ that I probably completely _botched_ any chance of me having a good time here, you don't have to rub it in..." I muttered sourly.

Sasha laughed a little at my sour expression. "Sorry." She apologized at my look. "But, uh, hey! I don't think that you _completely_ ruined it – that _does_ mean ruined right? – just look at Zim over there!" She said, and pointed at a random spot to our right. "He doesn't seem affected."

Blinking, I glanced over in that direction and, sure enough, Zim was standing by a picnic table, seeming to be muttering to himself (I swear I over heard something along the lines of; 'now to simply figure out how to harness the energy for the 'Rage-ray'!) and occasionally glancing at us or the Skool building, eyes narrowed in thought.

As I watched him, I spotted Dib and Gaz exit the Skool, Dib scribbling furiously in his little notebook and Gaz – for once – not playing her GS-2. Looks like she wanted to enjoy the nice weather – which was surprisingly warm after that rainstorm...

Dib didn't seem to be paying attention either, and was walking straight towards Zim. He and his sister reached the table and Gaz casually sat down, the blank look she always wore still dressing her face, though she seemed to have a faint aura of 'smirking' about her. Her mentally preoccupied brother, however, continued walking, taking notes, right until he bumped into Zim.

"Ugh! Oh, sor – UAGH!" He started to apologize, only to leap back in fear and disgust at the sight of _whom_ exactly he'd bumped into. Zim made a high-pitched shrieking noise and jumped back, too, hiding behind the picnic table. He stared at Dib wide eyed for a second before suddenly regaining his composure and stepping out from behind it, eyes narrowed.

"YOU!" He shrieked, pointing at Dib as if he was some sort of hideous mutant. (And hey, we – _humans_ – probably looked just like that to him.) "You DARE try and spy on ME, Dib-stink? You dare to spy on the mighty ZIM?"

Dib suddenly regained his composure himself. "Wha? What are you planning you filthy monster?" Dib snapped, glaring at Zim.

Zim sneered. "_You'll_ never be able to guess, idiot-Dib-thing! HA! The _amazingness_ of Zim's brain is _too _much for _your_ puny human one to understand!" And with that, he darted away, ignoring Dib's angered cry or protest and slightly confused look. Yes, it was rather hard to understand, wasn't it?

I snorted. "Well, that _was_ amusing." I muttered as Sasha snickered. "Did you hear what he said about the 'Rage-ray' or whatever?" I asked Sasha, looking back at her and grinning. Hey, _that _could be fun, right?

Sasha blinked at me. "Uh, no. Aww, man! Why can't I have ears like _yours?"_ She whined, crossing her arms and glaring at me like a child. And, well, Sash was really just a child at heart, in all honesty.

I smirked, raising my nose a little. "Because my ears are too awesome for you to handle." I said, petting them jokingly.

"I doubt that." Sasha said. "Can I just, like, cut _one_ off? Please? I'll give you one of mine!"

I laughed at her insanity. "Nope! My body parts are _not_ for sale, thankyouverymuch." I didn't exactly plan on pulling a Van Gough any time soon...

"Aw, man."

We both laughed at that, then started randomly watching the Skool kids because, well, we were bored and this was Invader Zim. WHAT ELSE were you supposed to do?

Dib had, of course, gone back to his furious note-taking – I had a 'hunch' that it was about us... He certainly was muttering our names often enough – and Gaz was just ignoring him, glaring up at the sky. Or... Enjoying the noon sun on her face...

I couldn't really tell with Gaz... She was harder to understand, but Something told me she was just enjoying the sun... I don't think the sky had done anything recently to tick her off, so it was a good guess... Maybe.

I glanced around again and spotted Zim. He was sitting on a picnic bench on the opposite side of the playground, giving a couple of girls playing jump rope a disgusted look. I didn't even _try_ to understand why that disgusted him so much. It would just cause me to go... More insane than I already was, and that wasn't exactly something I could afford.

My eyes flickered back to Dib, watching as he sat back down, taking notes. I let out a sigh of relief. Well, it didn't look as though they were acknowledging each other – aka no bomb about to go off. That was good. Not that I didn't enjoy watching their fights – they were _hilarious_, after all – I just preferred the calm at the moment.

I watched some of the kids playing and couldn't help but smile. Some of them – a group of a few boys and girls – were playing a type of tag. One of the kids would go up to the other and poke them then, squealing with laughter, they would run away as the person they'd poked chased after them, laughing too.

I laughed a little. I used to do that when I was a little younger. Except, I had a lot of guy-friends, so it was usually shoulder-punches instead of poking or tagging. I smiled at the memory. I had some cool guy-friends. I'd had them for years and, yeah, they were a little rude at times, but they were funny and good company and they didn't require you to go on and on over some stupid TV show or pair of shoes... But, thankfully, Sasha wasn't like that... The show thing... The TV SHOW, however, I actively took part in... I was partaking in it now, actually, if you get what I mean...

I grinned. Though my parents weren't very fond of my guy-friends, they DID like Sash. I glanced over at her to see that she was staring at something in her hands with awe. I peeked over her shoulder to see it better and I too stared at it in awe.

It was her MP3 player.

Thank God... She would've been in a _horrid _mood without it.

_"Lucky!"_ I gasped.

Sash grinned at me. "I know right? It was in my pocket!" She put one of the ear buds in her ear, leaving the other out so she could talk with me. "Full charge too!"

I crossed my arms. "Lucky you." I muttered.

"What?" She asked, giving me a 'raised-eyebrows-you're-being-grumpy-again' sort of look.

I pouted more. "My phone only has a little music on it... I don't even know if any of my other things came along with me... I was too freaked by the size of my bag to check."

"Well, check!" Sasha laughed before going back to listening to her music... Something by Good Charlotte I think... Good, I liked them...

Feeling curious, I took my back pack off and opened it. It – as it had every other time I'd opened it – appeared to be filled with a black shadow, and only the closer things were visible – a few pencils, a notebook some gum (yum, didn't know I had that). I narrowed my eyes in thought as I stared at it.

In cartoons, people always seemed to be able to reach into a bag and pull out _just_ what they needed – unless it was a comical or dramatic 'rummaging' montage – so... Maybe, they just... Got it 'cause they wanted it...? Or needed it...?

Crossing my fingers and hoping that I was right – though wondering if I was insane because I was even considering it – I closed my eyes and reached into the shadows in my bag, concentrating on the object of my desire.

I waved my hand around in there for a moment before I felt my hand connect with something. With a surprised gasp I pulled out a rectangular object maybe nine and a half inches wide and thirteen inches long, eyes snapping open. I stared at the white object before me, eyes wide. I heard Sash's gasp and, after a moment, I let out a squeal rivaling that of my earlier orange-juice-squeal, and hugged the piece of plastic and metal to myself.

_"My laptop!"_ I squeaked, and looked at Sash, wiggling in place. "Sasha! Sasha, look! It's my laptop! My laptop!" I hugged it tighter to myself with another squeal. "Lappy, baby I missed you!" I cried, about ready to cry.

And yes, I did call him Lappy. That's his name. Shut it.

"Don't be so over-dramatic." Sash mumbled, jealous.

But I couldn't help it, I'd just realized something... And that something was actually making me cry. And I never cried, ever... That was only enforced by the look of shock on Sasha's face.

Sasha stared at me as I shook my head, hugging the piece of technology tighter to myself. "No, Sasha, you don't understand, this is really important to me!"

Sash stared at me. "Casey, are you _crying?_" She asked, shocked. I nodded, wiping at my face with a hand and smiling faintly, choking down a sob. This was really wonderful. "_Why?"_

I sniffed a little before wiping at my eyes again. "Sash, it's got pictures of my mom and dad on it." I explained, looking down at my white laptop. I eyed the stickers I'd put on it – a 'my soul was removed to make room for all the sarcasm' black and white sticker, a red 'being evil makes me happy' red and black sticker with fangs on the 'y' of happy and, alarmingly, a _Gir_ sticker.

I quickly peeled off the Gir sticker and pulled a binder out of my bag, sticking it on the inside cover. As I shoved it back into my bag, a look of understanding over came Sasha's face.

"Oh." She said, before half smiling. "Cool, Cas, I know you got a new phone, and I didn't think that you had any pictures on it..." She smiled. "Good thing I have some of my mom and dad and brother on mine, right?"

I smiled sadly at her and then hiccuped a little, gaining a laugh out of her. "At least we have that, right?" I asked quietly. Mom and Dad... Man, I missed them already...

Part of my wanted to cry and throw a fit. Part of me was scared and horrified at the predicament we were in. Part of me was terrified and scared and wanted to go home... But another part, one that I thought that Sasha was certainly experiencing too, was amazed, and happy, and full of joy and wonder at all this. We were in a new place, having an adventure, and that part... That very, very good part, was sure that everything would be okay in the end... That this was going to be a 'happily ever after' of sorts.

I missed my mom and dad, though. I missed them so much and part of me wondered how they were, if they knew that we were missing, if any time had past... Wondered at how _much_ time had past, at how my pets at home – all ten of them – were doing... But my computer – Lappy as I had named him – had pictures of them... So that made it better.

"Are you _crying?_" A voice suddenly asked, and Sash and I looked up to see Dib standing a little ways away from us, a confused look on his face while he held his note-pad loosely at his side.

I sniffed, wiping at my eyes and smiling faintly, a little embarrassed. I wasn't one to cry in front of others and I found it embarrassing. "Hey, Dib." I laughed, before holding up my laptop a little. "Look, my laptop, lame right?" I laughed again as Sasha giggled slightly, and put her other ear bud in, tuning into her music completely. I didn't know if she was as sad-happy as me... She didn't look like it, but I'd have to talk to her later about it... I didn't want her getting depressed or something. Sasha didn't _get_ depressed and I wouldn't _allow it._ Depression was _my_ thing.

Dib's expression only got more confused. "You're crying over a _laptop?_" He stared at me. "What kind of alien _does_ that?" He demanded.

I laughed again, wiping all the tears away now. I tucked 'Lappy' back into my bag as I spoke. "A _human_ one." I said, putting my backpack back on. "But it's what's on it that's making me cry."

"_Human,_ yeah, ri- Wait! What? What's on it? Some sort of _evil_ plan! Huh? Huh!" Dib snapped, pulling out his notebook and glaring at me, ignoring Sasha's snickering (She was a bit of a lip-reader). "Don't bother holding back any information _Casey_ – IF THAT'S EVEN YOUR REAL NAME! – I'll find out _all _about you soon enough!" He narrowed his eyes at me, maybe expecting some sort of panicked, squealing reaction akin to what he got out of Zim.

Ha. Not likely.

I laughed. I couldn't help it, and sat up straighter, looking up at the 'leering' – as I'm sure he was trying to pull off – figure of Dib. "No, Dib, just some pictures..."

I watched in amusement as Dib's eyes lit up. "Pictures? What kind of pictures, huh, huh? Alien planets? DOOM-rays? TEST SUBJECTS? Don't bother hiding anything from me! I'm a _great_ paranormal investigator, you know!" His expression grew half smug at those words, leaving me to wonder if that usually scared Zim or something.

"No, Dib!" I said, full out laughing now. Leave it to Dib to cheer me up without even trying – just being a spazz. Sash was trying desperately to stifle a few laughs of her own. "Just a few pictures of my mom and dad and my pets."

"You have _parents?_" He gawked, as if the thought had never even crossed his mind – jerk. "What do they look like? Is your race similar in appearance to humans, or are you _really_ some sort of _horrible_ slimy blob thing? Huh? Is _Sasha_ your sister or something? What do you _really_ look like? Are your 'pets' human slaves or something? Where _are_ your 'parents'? Back on your home _planet?"_ He held up his notebook, starting to scribble things in it furiously, grinning evilly at me.

I blinked at him. "Well, first off, _yes_ I have parents, idiot, I don't just _exist on my own._ Yes my race is similar in appearance to humans because I – and Sash – _are _humans. My pets are seven dogs, one cat, and two finches._ This_ is what I really look like. Sasha isn't my _blood_ sister, but she might as well be, and _finally,_ my parents are back in _Wisconsin_, Sasha and I are here with a foster-'parent'." I said, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. "Does _that_ answer all your questions, Mr. _Inquisitor?"_

Dib sent me a nasty glare. "You didn't tell me what your parent's look like." He muttered, seemingly annoyed over the fact that he couldn't get any _alien _information out of me.

I snorted. "Well, if you _must_ know," I started, ignoring Sasha as she snorted, a hand covering her face as she tried to shut herself up. "My mom's got the same colored hair as me, just darker and cut a lot shorter, and she'd got brown eyes. I look a _lot_ like my dad, so just look at my face shape and imagine it male. He's older, and his hair is turning gray and he's got a bald spot on the back of his head but he's got such _pretty_ blue eyes!" I smiled sadly, missing them. "My mom's super nice and so's my dad..." I trailed off.

Dib was writing things down rapidly but paused to look at me. "But you've got green eyes?" He mumbled, before going back to writing. "That's weird..."

I shrugged. "Meh, whatever, I'd always thought that I was adopted." When he looked back at me with interest, I laughed. "Kidding."

He glared at me a moment before turning to Sash. "And what about _you,_ 'Sasha'? What's _you're_ family and planet like? Huh? HUH?"

Sasha – who'd calmed down after her little fit – ignored him.

Dib's eyes narrowed. "Hey? Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Ignored.

"What, so you're just going to _ignore _me?" He snapped, and I giggled. His head snapped around and he glared at me. "What's so funny?"

"She can't hear you, dolt." I snickered. "She's listening to Good Charlotte_._"

"I'm not a DOLT!" Dib snapped. "Whatever _that_ is... And what's a 'Good Charlotte?'" He asked, looking, for once, not as threateningly curious. He looked more naturally curious, not the same as that panic and anger driven inquiry a second ago.

"An older band." I explained, before pausing to listen. "I think she's on... Ah, yeah, '_The Story Of My Old Man._'" I grinned. "I like that one."

Dib raised an eyebrow at me. "What is it, some sort of alien code? Is this 'SONG' some sort of encoded message?" He glared at me. "IS IT?"

I laughed. "No, no it is not, but that's a clever idea." I grinned at the suddenly mortified look he sent me as he realized that he'd given the 'alien' an idea. I changed the subject before he could freak."You wanna hear it?"

He gave me a weary look. "Uh... I don't think your friend's gonna want to share..." He said, staring at the Zoned Out Sash. She was currently staring at a leaf.

I shrugged, pulling out my phone. "No biggie, I've got a speaker setting." I scooted over slightly and patted the ground next to me. "Come on, sit, or are you afraid that I'll suck out your _brains_ or something?" I teased, smirking.

Dib gave me a very surly glare and crossed his arms. "I'm not afraid of some stupid _alien._" He snapped. Ignoring the spot I'd patted, he sat in front of me, eyes narrowed. "I don't trust you, is all." He muttered.

"Which is obvious by the foot of space you're keeping between us." I murmured distractedly, scrolling through my play list on my phone in search of the song as he glared at me.

I was a little offended, honestly. I wasn't going to hurt him – I was too big of a fan, plus I'm not that mean – and I kinda liked him. No, not in the 'love-struck' way – though I do admit that I have a fangirl crush on him and Zim, to name a _few_ of the characters.

No, I liked him in the 'like' kind of way. I would really like to be his friend, honestly. 'Cause, come on! Dib's pretty cool, you guys.

Dib harrumphed then blinked in surprise as I let out a hissy little 'yeesssss!'. "Found it!" I said, and pressed play, grinning in excitement as I held up the phone so that he could hear.

I always got excited and enthusiastic when introducing someone to something I liked, and I always _really_ hoped that they liked it, too.

Dib cocked his head as the drums and guitar started, looking fairly interested and I couldn't help but grin.

_I don't too much about. Too much of my old man... I know he walked right out the door, we never saw him again... Last I heard he was at the bar, doing himself in. I know I've got that same disease, I guess I got that from hiiim._

_This is the story of my old man. Jut like his father before him. I'm telling you do any thing you can, so you don't end up just like them. Like theeemmm..._

I watched Dib's face interestedly as he listened. He looked like he was listening very hard to the lyrics. I grinned in amusement as I watched his expressions change, going from confused to interested to kinda enjoying it. After the two or so minute song ended and went onto loop, he blinked then looked at me.

"That wasn't too bad..." He admitted, a ghost of a grin on his face.

I beamed. "So, did you like it?"

"Uh... I guess?" He asked, staring at my enthusiasm with caution.

"Like, how did you like it? Was it cool? Awesome? Amazing?" I shot off, leaning forward excitedly as I paused the loop.

Dib gave me a 'okay-this-chick-is-nuts' sort of look. "Uh, I _liked_ it."

"No, you don't understand." I whined, shaking my head. I gave him a disappointed look before looking down at my phone again, scrolling through my music. Darn, I'd thought he'd be a little more enthusiastic.

"Don't understand? What? What don't I understand? What is it?" He shot off, staring at me wide eyed. "Was I supposed to understand something? What is it?"

Ha, hook line and sinker, _now_ he was interested in it.

I peered up at him, grinning at his slightly worried and confused look. He stared at me a moment before, realizing that he was being _friendly, _with an 'alien', he got a horror-struck look on his face and leaned away from me.

"What did you do?" He demanded, glaring at me. "Was there some sort of hidden message? Was that some kind of mind controlling song? It was, wasn't it? AM I AN ALIEN SLAVE NOW!" He yelled, pulling at his ears and looking terrified, not seeming to notice the looks he was gaining from fellow students in his panic.

I laughed – so did Sasha, she'd turned off her own music to listen to mine – and shook my head. "_No,_ you're not an alien _slave. Geeze."_

Sasha's snickered. "Cas is just a freak about her music." She said, elbowing me.

"Oi!" I snapped as Dib calmed down enough to stare at us curiously, though he still held at his ears. "No I'm not! There are others like me!"

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "What, really? No way!" She gasped.

I punched her shoulder. "Shut up! I'm not that weird!" I spotted Dib looking amused and turned on him. "I'm _not!_" I complained, gaining a chuckle out of him. At that, we all paused in out laughter – or bewilderment in my case – and Sasha and I stared at Dib, who looked rather surprised.

"Did you hear that, Casey?" Sasha gasped dramatically.

I clutched at my heart. "Oh my Gosh! Can it be?" We looked at each other, eyes wide.

_"Dib laughed! With __**us!**_" We gasped in union, before turning towards Dib, grinning teasingly.

Dib, looking thoroughly horrified, jumped to his feet, glaring at us and looking unnerved, "Nnn, that doesn't mean anything, _scum!_" He snapped, backing up. "_B_-_Besides_, I was laughing _at_ you, not... Not _with _you!" He started walking backwards, glaring at us. "I'll expose, you, you hear me? You and your little friend, Zim!" He turned around, starting towards the table and his sister. I noticed something, however, and grinned.

"Oi, Dib!" I called, and he spun around. I threw his dropped notebook at him and it hit him in the face, making him make a surprised 'nya!' kind of noise as he struggled to catch it. "You forgot something, and my name's spelled C-A-S-E-Y, not C-A-S-I-E."

Dib stared at us as Sasha cackled and I grinned before muttering something darkly and turning around to stalk back to his table. I heard a fainter laughter and looked over at Zim to see him snickering at Dib, grinning. I grinned at him as he suddenly looked over at Sash and I, only to frown a little as he suddenly glared at us and looked away.

Oh well, Dib was, at least, a _little_ more friendly with us now...

It was funny how, after I'd blown up like that, and been so sad and depressed, Sasha and Dib, a friend and a wanna-be enemy – and a song – could cheer me up...

I was probably one of the new freaks in Skool now – Sasha too – but that didn't really matter... I realized that we were just starting to carve out a bit of a life here, and if we were gonna be here for any length of time, and have to deal with all the consequences, then, well... We'd done pretty good. I didn't care about what all the other students thought, anyway. They were idiots. As long as I had Sasha, and a chance of being involved in Zim and Dib's lives – a chance at an adventure – I was fine. I was happy. Sad... But still happy.

I grinned at Sasha and she grinned back. "Well, that was fun."

Sasha nodded. "Yeah, it was nice to be nice and a little weird... But now, can we go back to being weird, please?" She asked, looking at me.

The bell suddenly rang, and as we stood up and the other students started to re-enter the Skool, I couldn't help but smile. "Always." I promised, teeth bared in the most genuine smile I'd had on since this morning.

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><p><strong>Well, this was freaking short. Sorry guys! ;^;"'<strong>

**I'll try to update again soon, I'm in a bit of a writing mood, so yay!**

**And no, this is not the end, nor will it turn into Dib/Casey, sorry ahead of time to the shippers out there...**

**Or, perhaps, I am lying...?**

**...**

**Nah, I'm telling the truth, REVIEW, PLEASE! I NEED IT SO BAD!**


	9. Well, hi there!

**Well, hello, hello, hello, everybody! Hi! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews (I'M NEARLY AT 70 REVIEWS NOW, OMG!) comments, ex-cetera.**

**Now, for the next chapter! There will be a longer author's note at the end of this, referring to this story, SO, I DO hop you'll read it!**

**OH and review! Pretty please?**

* * *

><p>…<p>

Sash and I followed the group of mobbing, unhappy children as they gathered in front of the door, 'mobbing' to get back inside; something they obviously didn't want to do. I didn't really either... Mostly because most of the kids here where smelly. I couldn't help but laugh, however, when I saw Zim pushing others out of his way as he fought go get his way to the front of the line.

Line going _into_ Skool or not, if Zim wanted to be first, so it would be.

As Sasha and I loitered around the back of the line, ignoring a few stares we got from a group of kids not so far away – the gossipers of the Skool, no doubt – I spotted Dib, even further back than us, talking animatedly to his sister. He was waving his arms around a lot, and looked excited, and he kept showing the uninterested, anti-social girl his notebook. From the sound of it, he was explaining his theories about _us._

I listened to him talk – he sounded like some sort of recording with the audio sped up – and, from what I could understand from his rushed, garbled talking – he obviously wanted to tell her as much as he could before she had to go to her own class – he had narrowed down his theories about us a little.

Apparently, we were either 'whatever the heck that thing _Zim_ is', something else 'just as bent on ruling us all as ZIM', demons in 'cahoots' – I kid-you-not, he actually said that – with ZIM, demons with 'their own evil plans to RULE US ALL', or 'Something else paranormal and EVIL!'.

Funnily enough, nowhere in his rant were we categorized as 'humans', or 'friendly'.

Huh.

Okaaaaay.

If only we _were_ something not-quite-human, though, that'd be neat!

Still, when it whittled down to it, we were evil, world-taking-over, paranormal _things_ in Dib's book.

_That_ would have to change, of course.

We couldn't have him chasing us around and trying to destroy us – though that DID sound fun – all the time. That boy needed a social live, I tell you, and if we had to become his friends and show him that we weren't there to destroy everything – not on purpose, at least – to make that happen, then so be it!

Plus, come on, this was Dib. Of course we wanted to be his friends.

My attention was taken away from Dib – who'd I'd been staring at, undetected, for a minute or two (Win!) – by a loud, angry yell, and I spun my head around just in time to see Zim get pushed out of line and onto his scrawny alien butt.

Ha.

Sash and I snickered as he made angry growling noises at the other-wise unaware children who'd pushed him out without noticing. I heard Dib's loud chuckling – thankfully, Zim didn't, there would've been blood-shed other-wise – as Zim got back up, dusting himself off and muttering under his breath about "... Stoopid, ignorant, pig-smellies, so ignorant are they of my AMAZINGNESS! I should be at the front of this line into this building of FILTH!"

Then again, it was less of a mutter and more of a growing, muted shriek when you pondered it.

A mind numbing shriek of brain grating _horror._

Ow.

I watched as he looked to the back of the line, face screwing up into disgust as he caught sight of – the now glaring defensively – Dib. He started eying the large crowd of children again, but started to look a bit lost as to what he should do when he saw how closely packed together they were.

There wasn't anywhere for him to worm his way in unnoticed in this line – the same with any sort of line like this at my 'real-world' school back home – and he – not that he knew what they were, or did he? How far into the series _were_ we, anyway? – didn't have any 'friends' that he could sneak into a better spot with.

Ah ha! A chance!

I think I'll take it.

"Oi! Zim!" I called, grabbing Sasha's – she'd been staring menacingly at a leaf a little ways away, as if she was considering eating it – attention. As soon as she saw what I was doing, she grinned.

Sometimes, my plans were easy to read... But not always, mind you. Not always.

The green-skinned 'boy's' head snapped up from it's glaring position to stare at me wide eyed. After a second, it went back to a glare as he registered that it was me who'd called for him. _"What?_" He snapped shortly, stalking over to Sasha and I. He put his hands on his hips, and I tried to not laugh at how girly and huffy he looked at the moment. "Can you not see that I am trying to get a spot in this... _Line,_ filthy?" He asked the question like I was an idiot baby or something.

J-er-k.

"FIRST, OFF!" I said loudly, though a laugh rang clearly in my voice. "My name is not 'filthy', it is Casey, but you may call me 'Cas' if you want or if it's too hard for you." I stated. I was doing a bad job at hiding the amusement in my voice, and in return I was receiving a glare from 'Zimmy-Zim'. "SECONDLY, would you like to cut in front of us?"

Zim blanched, seemingly taken aback, but then it turned into a slightly ticked look. "Zim, _shall._" He muttered, and promptly stepped in front of us, gaining a few grumbles from the people behind us – and I was pretty sure Dib was staring at us in shock and accusation, too. How very nice.

I snorted. "You're welcome."

That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say.

_Oops_.

Zim spun around, looking rather ticked, and I felt Sash shift behind me slightly. Zim _could_ look rather scary at times... And, well, you could practically see his in-human eyes glaring through his contacts, that was a BIT unnerving. "I took this spot because I wanted it! Not because _you_ offered it to me!" He snapped, not in the best of moods, apparently. "And there's nothing you could do to stop me from _keeping_ it, even if you tried, _Case-y._" He said. I didn't much like the way he hissed my name, but _that_ sounded like a challenge.

I liked a challenge.

And I knew what to do, for once.

"But I'm not _trying_ to stop you." I stated rather plainly,

Zim looked rather confused for a split second – and Sash, feeling that the danger had passed – stepped back into her original spot. It wasn't like she couldn't defend herself, as I've said before, that was never a question. No, she just didn't like yelling, almost as much as me. But, well, this was 'Zim-yelling'.

_This_ I could deal with.

_This _I was amused by.

_This_ I could have fun with.

"Yes!" Zim said suddenly, rebounding. "Because you shake in _fear_ of the mighty Zim! Yes?"

I snorted. "No." I said.

Once again, Zim looked a little confused. He stared at Sasha – who was grinning – and I for a moment before snapping "Your hair is stupid!" (Meanie) And turning his back to us. I choked back a laugh and grinned at Sasha.

This was fun.

Playing mind games with Zim was fun.

He'd been expecting some sort of yelling-match, something that he could prove his 'superiority' over. He _hadn't_ expected me to be 'nice' – though he probably thought that it was some sort of scheme, not kindness – and let him cut. He'd thought he'd gotten the spot through intimidation, and he was confused now because he hadn't, and I had basically admitted to him that he did not intimidate me in any way, shape, or form.

This is what a year of psycho-analyzing a cartoon got me.

This is what a life time of self-narrating and over-analyzing and over-thinking earned.

And it was totally worth it to be able to mess with peoples' heads.

Albeit fictional people who-weren't-actually-'people'-at-all-but-actually-an-alien.

I have to admit, I felt a little bit full of myself at that moment, like I could do anything I wanted, like I could rule over this place because I was _smarter_ than everyone, because I _understood _them better than others. And yes, I understood that _as_ I felt it, and I felt a certain level of disgust at my own selfish thoughts.

I was a type of person that was pretty aware of how their own emotions and thoughts were organized in their head. I realized that I was getting an unnecessary ego-boost and was being over-confident in one part of my brain, and was actually doing/feeling all of those emotions in another and not caring. It was kinda like I had two minds.

I don't know if this was a normal thing – I could not read other people's minds to see how their brains functioned, as much as I wish I could (it would certainly get rid of a lot of self-consciousness) – but it was something useful I possessed.

And it was a bit unnerving.

Have you ever gotten that one moment of clarity? That one, brief little flash, like a light streaking through you, when you suddenly realized something? Something about yourself? Saw yourself in a clear light? Understood something about yourself that you hated? Realized how stupid an action was? Felt a great regret for your very existence because you realized how horrible, or mean, or stupid, or ignorant you had been/were being?

Try being aware of that all almost constantly, and not having that comforting fog that made you ignore and forget it come creeping back in afterwords.

I was basically analyzing myself mentally... And I didn't really like a lot of stuff I saw or understood about myself. I tended to shove it away.

But, it made it easier for me to understand people and both sides of an argument, too, so it wasn't all bad.

I basically had too much self-doubt and self-consciousness about myself. Enough so that I could easily pick out my flaws.

That being how to explain it in more... Less _insane_ (and probably less stupid sounding) terms.

None of that makes sense to me, even though I could understand what I was getting at. I always feared someone would somehow understand my thoughts and hear my mad ramblings, so I usually shoved them away – like I did now. _Just ignore it and pretend that you're not stupid and unable to think normally._

The line suddenly moved and we were herded into the Skool, breaking me from my thoughts. I really ought to pay more attention to things _outside _my head...

_Maybe you're insane?_ A voice offered, and I snorted at the thought.

_Of __**course**__ I am,_ I thought as Sasha and I walked down the halls behind Zim – she was looking away from me in a very suspicious manner, I suspected she'd eaten the leaf while I wasn't looking. _I've always been 'off'... Since when did I __**care**__ though? It's a harmless insanity, I'm not cutting things up and feeding blood to walls like Johnny, am I?_

_ Not __**yet.**_

_ Shut up, idiot._

_ Jerk._

"_Why_ am I so annoying?" I wondered aloud with an exasperated sigh.

Sasha glanced at me. "You're not _that_ annoying." She said. "Well, I mean, you annoy me a _ton _when you've got a stuffy nose and won't stop _sniffling, _but that's just me."

I grinned. "Yeah, sorry about that... But I'm actually _arguing _with myself, now."

Sasha, finding nothing odd about that at all – she's told me that she does it too, sometimes – looked at me with interest. "And who's winning this time?"

I grumbled. "The negative-ninny." I muttered, gaining a laugh out of Sasha. "It's not really that funny! I'm starting to get confused again..." I sighed. "I'm insane, I guess."

"That's not insane! That's just weird! What was that thing you told me once? 'Truly insane people aren't always aware that they're insane, so just to be safe, always keep wondering if I am.'?"

I laughed as we rounded a corner, still behind Zim – not to mention some more kids from our classroom, good thing, too. I didn't exactly trust Zim to find the way back to the class room – and nodded. "I'm not always right, though. _Nny_ knows that he's insane, and he _is_, mind you." I said for an example.

Sash shook her head. "Now I'm confused." She admitted.

I laughed, nodding. "Me, too. Hey! I confused myself! Whee!" I cheered, having totally lost my train of thought. If there had been a point I'd been trying to make, I'd lost and forgotten it.

I spun around in a circle as we walked, laughing. Sasha stared at me.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sasha shook her head, as if she'd just awoken from a trance. "Oh, sorry, but I swear that you were in a good, goofy mood for a second, there!"

I punched her shoulder for about the umpteenth time today, scowling. "Jerk." I muttered. "I get happy, just not like other people. I have my moments."

Sasha opened her mouth to answer, when Zim suddenly spun around to glare at us – to my surprise. "FOOLS! Why do you follow the mighty Zim?!" He yelled, sending us a paranoid glare.

We blinked at him for some few seconds before Sasha burst into laughter and I face-palmed. "Zim! You toerag! We're in the same class!" I snapped, peeking at him through my fingers, eyebrow raising as I smirked.

Zim opened his mouth to shout at us – probably the ever-predictable; 'LIES!' – but cut himself off, looking confused. "Toe... Rag? What is that?" He asked, blinking and looking somewhat innocently confused. A ruse, I tell you, a RUSE! He was evil! … Though seemingly truly confused at the moment, I admit, and not THAT evil...

Well, at least in my opinion he wasn't all that 'evil'.

"An insult." I admitted, crossing my arms.

Immediately, Zim looked offended. "ZIM is no Rag-Of-Toes!" He shrieked, throwing up his arms, looking disgusted at the mere thought.

Sasha's giggles turned more shrill and I let out one of my signature 'HA!' laughs. Just one 'ha', people, I was weird that way, I 'barked' when I laughed.

"It means you're _stupid,_ or a _moron_, Zim, not that you're a 'Rag-Of-Toes', though I get where you got that from." I explained.

Zim looked all the more offended. "What!? You DARE to call me STUPID?! ME? ZIM?" His voice cracked a little, getting squeaky, and I resisted the urge to giggle. He was such a girl sometimes.

"Trust me, I mean it in the most affectionate of ways." I said. Sasha and I started walking again, Zim following, err, well, he was walking backwards in front of me, I guess I should say. How'd he do that, anyway? He wasn't bumping into anyo- _Well,_ most people were clearing a path for 'the weird kids', so, it kinda made sense that he hadn't bumped into anyone... Meh.

He blinked at me, reverting back to that blank-stare kind of look. "Eh?"

I rolled my eyes. Stupid alien, trust _him_ of all the aliens out there not to get the concept of 'affectionate insults'. "It's called teasing, Zim. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's mean, it all depends on who's doing it. Sash and I, for example, aren't trying to hurt your feelings, we're just 'teasing'." I explained slowly, waving a hand a little at him.

Zim looked confused, but it slowly turned into one of, _le gasp,_ **plotting!** Oh no!

We were 'doomed'.

Heh.

"Soooo... This is... Normal? The teasing?" He asked in what I'm sure he thought was a 'crafty' voice that was more-so painfully obvious in the fact that he was plotting something. He laced his fingers together, grinning slightly and inclining his head downwards and towards us.

All very cliché 'evil' type moves, I must admit, but he managed to pull them off, somehow.

"Yeeeessss..." Sasha and I said in union carefully. WE knew that look WELL. VERY well. We had very similar – if not more discreet and affective – looks ourselves.

We were among a fellow trouble maker.

We knew that, but dear God... We REALLY shouldn't all be in the same room together...

Someone put a warning label sticker on all our foreheads, please, stating 'If you see another one with this sticker, KEEP THEM AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO. OH, DEAR GOD, YOU CANNOT IMAGINE THE POTINTIAL CARNAGE IF THEY WERE TO MEET! PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS EVENT TAKE PLACE! Thank you have a nice day.'

… Mmmaayyybbbbeee that was a _little_ dramatic, but _still!_

"We ARE teasing you." I said. "But like I said, we're being nice about it, teasing isn't necessarily a 'good' thing, especially if it hurts someone... But it's pretty 'normal' and harmless otherwise." This was kinda nice, explaining things.

Zim smirked devilishly and I sorta took that last mental comment back. "Then the Case-y-human is a stupid rock and the Sasha-human is a, uh, short-face!" Zim shrieked, before falling into mad giggles – apparently finding himself oh-so-very-clever.

SOMEONE hadn't quite grasped the concept of the human language's form of sarcasm, apparently.

"Oh, Touche, Zim, touche, I am absolutely, inconceivably _teased._ How _clever _of you!" I gasped in such an obvious voice that I actually hoped that he'd get it.

Wasted hope, honestly, absolutely wasted.

I could have used it to make a _paper mache hat_ and it would've been of more use.

"Wow, I'm so hurt." Sasha said, adding her own two-cents. Good ol' Sasha.

"Yes, I AM rather clever at the insulting, aren't I?" Zim said, ego inflating.

What. A. Nub.

An admitably adorable, naïve, childish nub at the moment, sure, but still a nub.

"Are you _kidding me?_" A voice snapped from behind me just as I opened my mouth to explain sarcasm to Zim. I looked to my left as Dib joined us, a confused glare on his face. "Those were the _worst _insults I've ever heard!" He said, voice cracking slightly as he threw up his hands a little. "A _four year old_ has better insults in his vocabulary than _that!"_

"You know _nothing_ of insults, pig-smelly!" Zim snapped, clearly offended. "The Case-y-human and Sasha-human were _clearly _insulted by the ingenious words that came from my amazing noise-tube!"

Dib deadpanned him, apparently not understanding what he was trying to say. He, after a moment, apparently decided to ignore it. "Are you serious? Ever heard of _sarcasm,_ space-boy?" Dib taunted.

It was Zim's turn to deadpan. "Yes...? Are you trying to say something, worm-baby?"

Dib outright gawked at Zim. "They were _using_ it, idiot!" Dib snapped, waving his arms at him.

"Really? I didn't hear it." Zim said, raising an eyebrow before turning around and walking normally, somehow pulling ahead of us.

I laughed at Dib's shocked expression. "Uh, Dib? I _think_ Zim _might_ just be messing with you." I said as Sasha snorted, grinning and covering her mouth a bit.

Dib sent me a glare before disappearing into the crowd of children around us, mumbling as he went. _Jerk..._

"Baby." Sasha snickered. I laughed too, then fell silent as we reached Ms. Bitters' room and entered with the increasingly depressed looking students. We passed – a very smug looking – Zim and sat at our seats, ignoring the obvious glares that we were receiving from Dib. Zim obviously thought that he'd somehow proved himself 'superior' than us by 'insulting' us, and wasn't even bothering with looking at us, and Dib still held firm in his belief that we were monsters, apparently.

Progress... Slow, but it was there.

A second after everyone's butts were in their chairs, a shadow stretched out from under Ms.-Bitters' desk and into her seat where it solidified into the evil – now sitting – teacher herself. I heard Zim make a weird kind of shocked noise, and saw Dib frantically taking notes, and couldn't help but smile. So even they weren't used to it, eh? Good.

Ms. Bitters' glared at my apparent happiness and, despite my like of her, I shrank into my desk ever-so slightly. She was scary, man!

"Welcome back, not that I care," Ms. Bitters started in her usual gravely tones. "Today for our _hideous _afternoon session, the _Skool overlords_ have suggested that we have an 'art' class."

Sasha and I immediately sat up straight, eyes widening. As a grumble went through the class, Dib and Zim both send us looks, seemingly interested in... Our... Interest, I... guess.

Whatever.

In the back of my mind I noted that 'afternoon classes' seemed to change from day to day. I recalled seeing some sort of schedule in that huge stack of paper I'd had to repeatedly sign my name in... I think that afternoon and morning classes tended to vary from day to day...

Sweetness.

"What? Art? Shouldn't you be teaching us something substantial?" A voice asked and my head snapped around to glare at the offender – _Dib._ "Or _useful?_" He continued. "What's the point in this anyway?"

"Keep your dirty mouth _shut!_" I snapped, causing Dib to stare at me with wide eyes. "Art is GREAT!" I glared at him and huffed a little before looking back at Ms. Bitters, hands folded neatly on my desk as I calmed almost immediately.

Ms. Bitters stared at me a moment before continuing. "Now, seeing as we are all _inevitably doomed to horrible dooming, doom-filled demises_, and this is what I have to teach you stinky children about, _daily_, you must draw something relating to _that._ _After_ that, do whatever you want, in the end it doesn't even matter... Now _go!"_ She pointed a spindly finger at the back of the room, where there were rounded rectangular tables set up in crooked sort of rows. "I will pass out the papers when you are all seated, _and four to a table._" She added in a hiss, as if not having 'four to a table' was some sort of major atrocity. "The Skool doesn't have enough money for more tables because it's _useless,_ just like everything else." Ah, so that was it.

Sasha and I, so shocked by this – awesome – turn of events, and I still being a little miffed about Dib's apparent apathy towards art, ended up being the last – along with Dib and Zim, of course, that seemed to be how it worked here – to get out of our chairs, and, _ironically,_ all of the other tables were filled up, save for a dirty rickety one in the back corner of the room by the windows.

And guess who _also_ didn't have a table yet?

Yep, that's right, TABLE OF THE FREAKS time! Whoot!

LET'S DESTROY EVERYTHING!

Heh, okay, no. Not that. We weren't THAT bad...

Though I'd keep an eye out for exploding things if I were you...

And I highly suggest putting those stickers on our foreheads.

Seriously.

While Sash and I immediately sat down, setting our backpacks on the table and grinning at each other excitedly and like little mad-people, Dib and Zim had decided to have a half stare at us half glare at each other contest. It went on like that for a few seconds; stare at us in confusion, then glower at each other. Stare. Glower. Stare. Glower. Sttaarreee... Glower...

Eventually, I got annoyed.

"Look." I snapped, "Just flipping SIT DOWN, or I will _hurt_ you."

The two males gave me doubtful looks and I smirked.

"Fine, _Sasha_ will hurt you." I said, a little miffed that they didn't take my threat seriously.

To reenforce my point, Sasha held up a metal spork covered in a red liquid that I did _not_ have the courage to ask the origin of. (later, I would find it to be cranberry juice, who knew?) "Who likes sporks?!" She almost shouted. "_I_ like sporks. I do..." She grinned, laughing. "And sporks like _yoouuu..._"

I don't know whether they were genuinely terrified of Sasha – she tended to give off a 'serious' aura that made you realize that she _wasn't_ joking – or if they'd just gotten tired of standing, but they both took seats on the other side of the table, scooting their chairs as far away as they could from each other and sending each other DEATH GLARES.

Oh joy, that would REALLY be fun to have sitting across from me while I sat here and tried to draw something nice.

Idiots...

It was at this point in time that Ms. Bitters reached our table. She stared down at us with her usual apathetically surly look and suddenly slammed down a block of wood onto the table. A knotted, uneven block, but still a block. "We seem to have run out of paper – I blame the Skool's budget – so you will have to carve your pictures in to, or out of, this block of wood."

Of _course._

Dib stared at her incredulously as Zim curiously poked at the block of – whale shaped – wood. "What, you're going to trust an alien menace with a _knife?_" He snapped. Zim looked up with a slightly interested look at the mention of 'knife'.

I had to agree with Dib, honestly.

"And _Sasha?_" I asked Ms. Bitters, who went from glaring at Dib to glaring at me, an eyebrow raised. "I mean – no offense to her, obviously – but look at her!"

Sasha blinked as Ms. Bitters looked at her and she waved, smiling innocently. "Hello!"

Ms. Bitters looked back at me.

"She's a mass of raging horror and destruction!" I argued, ignoring Sasha's 'I am.'. "She's my best friend, but _really?_" I stared at her, ignoring Zim and Dib's own staring. "REALLY? Do you want to DIE, WOMAN? DO YOU? Is your life REALLY that HORRIBLE? DO YOU WISH TO BRING ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE?!"

Ms. Bitters didn't seem to care all that much, and simply blinked at me. Meanwhile, both Dib and Zim were baldly staring at me, not seeming to care if I noticed.

"We also do not have any _knives_ – and I will not let small, stinky children have any of mine, of course, that would make them dirty – so you will simply have to use your own teeth to gnaw out your artistic desires." She explained, before slithering away.

Part of me was marveling at her awesomeness, and another was laughing it's butt off, and a third party was in shock. I'm unsure of which showed up on my face, but all were appropriate, anyway and I didn't really care in the end.

Zim stared at the block of wood in apparent horror. "I am NOT biting that!" He argued, clearly disgusted. So was I. Just... Ew, gross. I was trying – and failing – to NOT imagine biting into that and getting other people's spit and gum-blood into my own mouth. Oh, and the splinter's I'd get under my gums and in my lips and tongue and maybe even throat.

Eeeeeew... Stop it brain, just STOP.

I was too curious for my own good.

Also too good at envisioning things.

…

EEWWWWW! I DID IT AGAIN! DANG IT ALL!

Dib started to nod, realized who he was nodding with, and scowled. "This is pretty stupid." He muttered, crossing his arms, then, to me, maybe trying to get a rise out of me; "I think ART, is stupid." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for a reaction, probably.

I snorted as Sasha suddenly grabbed the wood and started stabbing at it with her spork, sending chips of wood flying. "Good for you." I said, twitching slightly when a piece of the wood hit me; I'd decided not to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he'd gotten to me... If only slightly. I pulled out a sketchpad from my backpack and a few graphite pencils too, and narrowed my eyes. "Now shush, I gotta draw something meaningless so that I can draw what I want."

Dib stared at me. "You have paper?" He asked, and I looked up to see him and Zim giving me a look.

"Uhh... Yes?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you _want _some to draw on, or are you still hatin' on my artistic spirit?"

THAT confused him. Dib raised an eyebrow at me. "What? No, I – ugh, just give me some paper... _Please_." He added, seeing my look.

Yesss, my look. I had many looks... Most of them scary! But that one had been more reprimanding than scary... I think.

God, I felt old.

I'm just glad Sasha was too absorbed in her spork-euphoria-fueled carving to notice, or I'd get the 'you're _mothering_ agaiiinnn!' talk.

It was more of a song, actually.

An annoying, teasing, eye-twitching song.

Guh.

I ripped a piece of paper for both of the boys out of my sketchbook before I could get too deep into the feeling of 'annoyed' and passed them each their paper. "You're _welcome._" I said, grinning despite myself.

"Uh, _thanks._" Dib said a little grudgingly as Zim just glared down at the paper for a few moments, before snorting, not bothering to thank me. As Dib started to draw something that would undoubtedly end up as a picture of Zim – maybe us? – on a dissection table, and Zim just boredly scribbled on his, I stared at my paper, glaring at it. Something meaningless, something meaningless...

This was a standard case of 'draw what they want, not what YOU want', soo... What did Ms. Bitters think of as 'meaningless'...?

… Well, everything, but I couldn't very well draw THAT, could I? Ha! Nope! Not enough _time._

Hmm... Maybe, the... Economy? Hmm, yeah, that could work! I'd just... Draw a bank or... Something.

Hmm...

Well, since my 'building drawing' skills were a bit... HORRIBLE, I just drew a few dollar bills, making one crumpled and one stained and giving another clown feet. Heh, CLOWNS... My mom was terrified of clowns...

I ended up doodling maybe five different pictures on one sheet of paper, but by then I was entirely bored with the whole concept and simply ripped the page out, muttered a cheerful 'Done!', set it aside, and started to doodle little chibi's on the new page.

What? Chibi's were cute.

Or... Mildly horrifying, at least when it came to my artistic skills.

Dang it all.

After a while, I glanced over to see what Sasha was doing, and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had somehow managed to carve a lumpy heart out of the block of wood. That was pretty awesome, considering that she'd only had a spork and that she'd done it in mere minutes. Then again, she WAS, well, _her_...

Anyway, she was now pleasantly drawing 'Super Bunny' comics in the back of her notebook.

_Nice._..

That was sarcasm. It doesn't seem to translate well with a lot of people.

Just clarifying.

I glanced discreetly over at Dib to see that he had indeed drawn Zim on an autopsy table... With Sash and I – bearing devil's horns and tails, unsurprisingly – drawn into cages in the background, being studied by people in lab coats.

It was slightly disturbing... But on the other hand, it was hilarious, and Dib was only 11 or 12, what else would one expect of him?

Besides, it would take a lot more than a flimsy cage to trap Sash, especially if she was in one of her _moods._

The whole concept of Sash being 'trapped' in something as silly as a cage was just plain laughable.

And I wouldn't look that calm. Nope. I'd be ticked... And probably biting people, or scolding them.

Sasha might be _eating_ people...

…

When did my brain start to drown in this topic, anyway?'

BACK ON TASK, BRAIN!

My eyes flickered over to Zim's picture before 'Big-Head' could catch me looking and freak, and I saw that he was lazily drawing a picture of Earth... With a spike through it... And a sad smiley-face... Even a few tears here and there.

Cute.

Oh, and brilliant artistic skills there, by the way, Zim! And not suspicious at _all._

He was like a freaking _kid_ sometimes...

And I'm PRETTY sure he's like... 15 to 18 in his own society... At the least a young adult.

Nub.

Childish nub.

I snickered, before drawing more doodles. A fox here, a Doctor or two there, Loki. Just random, silly stuff. I was actually enjoying myself, too, even if the act of just 'doodling' like this was rather boring.

Yes. This was nice, relaxing, even...

"What-cha doooin'?"

Guh. So much for that. Now I'm twitchy again.

Ah, oh well, it was Sash, I could deal with it.

I glanced over at her. She'd finished with her comic – one glance at it told me that she'd gotten bored with it half way and had resorted to doodling things, like Nny – and apparently decided that annoying me would be the best use of her time.

"Dooodlin'." I sang back at her, using the same tone.

"Oooh!" She said. "Draw Castiel! I LOOOVEEEE Castiel chibi's or... Whatever they're called." She grinned at me, ignoring the glances she and I got from Zim and Dib. Raised eyebrows, anyone?

"'Chibi's', yeah, and I already did, see?" I pointed at a little angel doodle in the far corner of the page I was currently on.

Sasha 'aww-ed' and I grinned a little. It was always nice when someone liked your work. Especially your friends. "Thanks..." I mumbled, blushing a little. That little 'aww' meant more to me than I was willing to admit...

"What is the Sasha-beast making noises about, _now?_" I heard Zim irritatedly ask, and looked up to find him leaning over the table, trying to peer at my drawings. Yes, Zim was so discrete when it came to these things. He was a subliminal mastermind.

_Sarcasm_ was more my for-te.

"A Chibi." I explained, pushing the notebook towards him a little and pointing at the Castiel-Chibi I'd drawn. "It's just a picture, and she thinks it's cute."

Zim raised an absent eyebrow, looking confused. I was about to explain chibi and cute to him, unsure if whether he'd been told what it (cute) meant or not, yet, when someone – or 'thing' for all we know – interrupted me.

"Turn in your papers!" Ms. Bitters hissed and all heads snapped around to look at the front of the room, where Ms. Bitters was standing before her desk, glowering at us all. "The bell is about to ring."

Might I add that the clock was behind her. And that she couldn't see it.

"Okaayyyy..." I said, standing and shoving everything – save for my drawing of 'money', of course – into my bag. "That's not creepy at ALL." I said as Sasha picked up her wooden heart, ignoring all the wood-chips left behind. The janitors would get them... Either that, or they were too lazy and wouldn't bother. Yes. That was probably it. They'd be here tomorrow, or rather, Monday, seeing as it was Friday.

Unless something ate them while we were away... Like rat people... Or mole-people of course. Hmm, that would be cool. Maybe whoever were in the underground classrooms would get them? Did they live here? Did they get to go home? Were they trapped? Why was I suddenly thinking like Dib?

"Hey? Hey! Hey, CAS!"

I jumped, blinking, and realized that I'd been staring at the table for a good minute now, and that everyone else was now at the front of the room, either handing in their work or sitting in their seats to wait for the bell. I looked at Sasha, giving her an embarrassed shrug. "Ah, sorry. Dream-Land for a second there." I said, grinning.

"Mm." Sasha just grunted, not seeming interested as she lead the way down the rows of desks and to the front, where we were assaulted by glares from Dib. Jerk. Well, we handed in our 'projects' anyway, and sat down, waiting for the bell to ring.

I lazily scratched at my desk, ignoring Zim's twitching. Apparently, he didn't like the sound of my nails on wood. Huh.

What was that? Oh, NO. Of COURSE I didn't scratch a little harder! That would be MEAN!

Insert snort of contempt here.

Just because I liked certain people didn't mean that I couldn't mess with them. That was my twisted way of showing affection... Along with punching people's shoulders.

… I... Really need to work on that, don't I?

Just as – I'm sure – Zim was about to explode in a fit of howling rage and even perhaps strangle me, the bell rang, and the reaction was predictable. The students – other than the four in the front row – let out animalistic cheers and ran around like monkeys. Most fled from the horrid suppressing institute of knowledge via the windows, while some of the smarter ones fled via the door, off to their lockers to collect their backpacks or other supplies, no doubt.

Oh, that reminded me, Sasha and I had lockers, didn't we? We'd have to go look for them one of these days... They could be useful.

For what, I didn't know – especially seeing as we seemed to have backpacks with infinite storage capacity – but who really cared. They were lockers, they got filled with mountains of useless junk and dirt sooner or later, let's just make it sooner in this case, eh?

Dib briskly walked past us – a look on his face that said that he was 'ignoring the demonic filth that fate had lain before him' – and towards the door as we got up, I watched him with a raised eyebrow, well, at least until Zim stuck out his leg, an evil look on his face, and Dib tripped.

Then BOTH eyebrows raised.

Dib went down with a loud yell, his chin hitting the tile floor with a clip as his teeth mashed together and I flinched as Zim started to cackle madly. My head darted around, automatically searching for a teacher, but Ms. Bitters had disappeared, and she probably wouldn't have cared anyway. My head snapped back to stare at Dib as he got back up, rubbing at his jaw. Besides me, Sasha was stifling giggles as Zim cackled.

"JERK!" Dib shouted, glaring at Zim.

Zim giggled. "Foolish Dib! Conquered only by my foot! _Pathetic!_" He laughed, holding at his stomach.

Dib scowled at him. "REAL clever _Zim._ If the extent of your 'alien conquering abilities' is your foot, then that's hardly something to be afraid of!" He rubbed at his sore jaw, sending a glare at the snickering Sasha that she missed.

Zim's expression had slid into contempt, but it quickly turned to narrow eyed suspicion as he saw Sash and I loitering by our desks and watching him. "Away with you! This is a private – NORMAL – conversation!" He snapped, making shooing motions at us. Dib just stood in the doorway, rubbing his jaw and staring at him incredulously.

Before I could respond, Dib gestured at Zim with both hands, revealing the growing bruise on his jaw. "Come, ON! He's as obviously ALIEN as you two are DEMONIC!" Apparently seeing something in our expressions he didn't like – it was probably mine, I was suppressing a laugh – he took it upon himself to clarify. "He's an ALIEN!" Insert angry dramatic pointing.

I opened my mouth, having every intention to keep my response neutral and leave the situation before the fighting could start and we ourselves get involved. I, for one, wanted to remain a 'neutral' in the little Mini-War Dib and Zim had with each other. But, alas, Sasha had other ideas.

"Yeah, DUH he is, we _know_ that!" Sasha scoffed, and in one, unbelievably swift movement, she stepped forward, snagged the wig right off Zim's head and stepped back into place, by my side, waving it a little. "SEE?"

… I think my brain stopped.

Dib stared in shock, as if seeing Zim for the first time – as an alien – and the green 'boy's' face started draining of all color, now revealed antennae standing straight up as his jaw dropped. He seemed to be twitching slightly.

I didn't know what to do for a second. I was still collecting my thoughts, simply staring at Dib and Zim. I had not planned for this. No. This was not how I'd wanted it to happen. I'd wanted trust between Zim and Sash and I before this. Not this sudden shock.

I'd wanted a 'willing reveal' so to speak, not something that would make Sasha and I all the more suspicious!

My head, jerkily, twitched until it was facing Sasha, and I stared at her, face ashen.

"What?" Sasha asked innocently, holding up the limp wig with a shrug and a playful grin. "You would-a done it eventually."

That seemed to somehow snap Zim out of it, and he started stammering, eyes wide as he desperately tried to cover his antennae with his hands. "Th-This? I-It's nothing! It's p-part of my... MY SKIN CONDITION, yes! Now GIVE THAT BACK!" He lunged for Sash and, instinctively, I grabbed her sleeve and took a step back, successfully yanking her out of the way as Zim went flying past, slamming into the ground and skidding a few inches.

Apparently, that snapped Dib out of his stupor too, and he started desperately looking around for someone to point it out too. Seeing as it was only Sash and I, he resigned himself to simply pointing at Zim, who was getting to his feet, growling and glaring at us.

"SEE! Do you SEE the ANTENNAE?" Dib shouted, ignoring Zim's pointed glare. "There's no possible way for a _human _disease to do that to someone! He's an alien!" I have no idea why he was pointing it out to us, seeing as we were 'demons', apparently, but I don't think that he'd ever had an opportunity like this before and he didn't want to waste it.

My brain started again, and no, not the slow start up you got out of your computer after a 'Blue Screen of Death', ha. NO. It was speeding as fast as it could, scrambling to figure out what to do as Zim got up, looking like he was going to try and tackle Sasha again, and Dib got into a fighting position.

Not to defend us because he liked us, oh _no,_ only to defend the two 'things' that could, possibly, help destroy Zim.

I couldn't focus, I think I was having a break down, and Sasha just kept _staring _at me, NOT. GETTING. IT.

"LIES!" Zim screeched. "It's a perfectly normal skin condition! The Dib is just, uh... STUPID!" He sent Sash and I a skittish look as Dib scoffed.

"Come, ON? Are you really gonna believe that!?"

I just kept staring at Sash in horror. I did it for so long – only a few second's I'm sure, but _still_ – that Sash was starting to get concerned, even 'the boys' were looking less angry and a little confused. "Cas, you okay?" Sasha asked, frowning.

And then I grinned.

And started laughing.

I think I was having a panic attack.

Laughing, ignoring the stares I was getting, I grabbed the wig out of Sasha's hands, set it on Ms. Bitters' desk, and grabbed her wrist, starting to drag her towards the door, where Dib was quickly stepping out of the way.

"Cas?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow at me in curiosity.

I grinned at her. "Ah, ha, ha ha, _haaaa!_ Sasha? I'm going to murder you! _Haaa!_" I laughed, and dragged her out of the room, grinning and waving bye to the shocked Dib and Zim.

* * *

><p>Of course, by the time I'd dragged Sasha to the front of the Skool and out the front doors, I was no longer laughing. Nay, face stoney, I released Sasha, and sat down on the front steps, glaring out at the front yard of the Skool and at the few student stragglers.<p>

I felt drained.

Sasha stared down at me for a moment, blinking, before she sat down next to me, raising an eyebrow. "What was THAT?" She asked, a laugh in her voice that faded when I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What was that?" I repeated dully. "That was us loosing any trust we might have gained with Zim today, that's what it was." I put my elbows on my knees and chin in my hands, releasing a sigh. "Mmyep."

"No, the freak out." Sasha said. "What was the deal with that?"

I laughed. "Oh, I just thought that it was all hilarious..." I admitted. And I HAD! It WAS funny on one hand... But... "But that doesn't mean I'm not mad." I sent Sasha a look. "Why the heck would you DO that, anyway?" I snapped. "What happened to laying low? Zim was starting to trust us!"

Sasha actually laughed. "Come on!" She said. "It was funny! Didn't you see the look on his face? Besides, I was getting bored with knowing that he was an alien and not being able to _do_ anything with it. It was funny, anyway!"

I glared at her. "I had a _plan._" I snapped. "I wanted him to _trust us_, Sasha! Not be scared!"

"But... Zim wasn't scared...?" Sasha half asked slowly blinking at me.

I scoffed. "_'Didn't you see the look on his face'?_" I asked, repeating her in a bit of a mocking tone. I sent a glare at her, watching her shrink slightly. "That would have scared _anyone,_ Sasha. _Anyone._ And especially the ever-paranoid Zim!" I sighed. "And now Zim and Dib are fighting."

Sasha looked at me, confused out of her slight guilt, if she'd even felt it. "How do you know?"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Can't you hear them?" I asked. Seriously, couldn't she? _I certainly_ could! Dib was screaming at Zim and trying to snatch away his wig and Zim was screaming back that he was 'normal' and that Dib needed to shut up... They screamed all this as they punched each other, mind you.

Well... I actually don't know that for sure. I just got this _really_ vivid image of them fighting as they chased each other down the halls... Arguing by shouting nonsense at each other... Nonsense that was getting progressively louder...

Sasha moaned and I couldn't help but grin at her expression. "Seriously, I will trade BOTH my ears for just ONE of yours!" She crossed her arms, pouting.

I laughed. "And I'd give you one if you told me how you always manage to do whatever you want and not get caught." It was true! We both had the uncanny knack for trouble making – among many things, like being able to sneak up on people – but Sash could always get away with TONS of stuff that I couldn't! It was weird!

"NEEVVEERRRR!" Sasha cried dramatically, shaking her fist as she stood and I laughed, standing up with her.

"Psh, fine!" I sighed, then blinked. "Oh, by the way," I grabbed her arm and dragged her closer to the side as sudden screaming erupted from behind the front doors. "Can you hear it now?" I laughed.

Sasha grinned. "Yeesss..." She said, then we both flinched as the doors suddenly slammed open, Zim flying through them and quickly kicking them shut. The resulting 'OW!' from the other side confirmed my suspicions that it had hit Dib in the face.

Ow.

Zim, wig slightly askew, laughed evilly at the loud thump noise coming from behind the door – Dib falling over, I think – and turned around, his back to us. That weird, communication thing he has – the odd little cellphone like device attached to a segmented metal 'leg' – suddenly slid out of his PAK and he started barking orders into it.

"GIR! Get down to the horrible SKOOL-thing! NOW! I need you to DESTROY something for me!" Zim yelled and I felt myself grin at the resulting loud squeak from the device. Said device retracted into his PAK and Zim spun around, only to freeze when he saw Sash and I standing there.

There was a moment of silence, then...

"Hiiii!" Sasha said, grinning and waving and I let my head hang, shaking it slightly. Oh Sasha...

Zim narrowed his eyes at us and took a step forward. For a second, I thought that he was going to attack us, but then the doors flew open and Dib rushed out, tackling Zim and sending the both of them flying out onto the front concrete walk of the Skool.

"Got you now, Space Monster!" Dib shouted as Zim made a startled squealing noise.

Zim suddenly kicked Dib off, sending him flying away. "Do not TOUCH ME, EARTH FILTH!" Zim shouted, standing up and dusting himself off as Dib sat up, rubbing at the back of his head. Zim's head suddenly snapped around to glare at Sash and I as we descended the steps, I grinning and Sasha laughing. "WHAT is so funny?" He snapped.

I opened my mouth to answer, something sarcastic, I assure you, but a sudden squealing and florescent green blur tackled Zim to the ground and my sarcastic remark morphed into an 'awww'.

Unwillingly, of course.

That thing had spooky powers I tell you!

It MADE ME DO IT!

…

Okay, so he didn't, I'm just a girl, but for the record, Sasha 'awed' in union with me.

Just for the record.

I expect you're all keeping one?

"HIII master!" Gir, the loveable robot in a 'dog' suit himself, squealed, hugging said 'master' around the waist, grinning. "I saw a MONKEY on the way heeerrreee!"

"GIR!" Zim shouted, annoyed, and shoved the green 'dog' off of him, getting back up. "What have I told you about the _touching?_"

Gir – who'd landed on his head – rolled onto his stomach, looking up at Zim. "Uhh... I donno..."

Zim opened his mouth to shout something, but a loud 'AWW' from Sasha interrupted him, and in an instant, she was standing next to him, holding Gir out in front of her. (MAN she was fast!) "HI!" She shouted, grinning.

Aw crud.

We need those forehead stickers again.

Get me the FOREHEAD STICKEERSSS!

Gir beamed, eyes wide. "Hello!" He squeaked. "I'm GIR! I need a SUCK MUNKEY!" He started wiggling around as Zim's expression got increasingly more angry as he glared at Sash.

Meanwhile, I walked over to Dib, deciding to put off my own 'aw' fest for a few seconds. He glared up at me as I stopped in front of him, trying to give a friendly smile. He opened his mouth to yell at me, but a loud squeak from Sasha cut him off and had me whirling around to see what happened.

"HI! I'm Sasha and I NEED ONE TOO! YOU WANNA BE BEST BESTEST FRIENDS FOREVER, EVER, GIR?" Sasha asked... Well, screamed.

Gir looked like he was about to explode and grinned. "I DO! LET'S BE FRIENDS UNTIL THE HOBOS COME HOME!" He shrieked and Sash hugged him, grinning. "RIDEN' THE MAAAGIC PONIES!"

"ALRIGHT! LET'S GO BLOW STUFF UP, NOW, 'KAY?" Sasha shout-asked.

Zim suddenly yanked Gir out of her grip, glaring at her. "NO! You will NOT use Gir to blow stuff up. ZIM IS THE ONLY PERSON GIR BLOWS THINGS UP FOR!"

"BUT I WANNA BLOW UP A SUPERMARKET!" Sasha screamed, sending the last students running. I shook my head, laughing, and grabbed Dib's arm, hauling him to a standing position and ignoring his scowl as he jerked his arm out of my grip. "A K-MART OR SOMETHING! COME OOONNNNN! SOMETHING WITH SNACKS IN IT! TWINKIES! TWINKIES EVERYWHERE, I SAY!" Sasha continued. "LET IT RAAAIIINNNN DA TWINKIES!"

Oddly enough, this was normal behavior... Coming from _her,_ at least_._

"NO, YOU WILL NOT USE GIR TO DO THAT EITHER! GIR IS MINE! MIINNEE!" Zim yelled back, waving Gir around in the air above his head. "ONLY **I **SHALL USE HIM TO BLOW THINGS UP, AND NO _TWIN-KIE_ IS GOING TO STOP ME!"

"More like blow _yourself_ up." Dib muttered and I snickered, gaining a look of surprise out of Dib... And Zim's attention.

Oopsie-daisy.

His eyes narrowed at Dib, and I took a step away, a liiiittleee nervous. That was his 'evil' look, you know. "GIR!" Zim shouted, dropping the robot in disguise to point at Dib. "Destroy the human!"

Gir suddenly saluted, eyes shining faintly red through his felt eyes, and in one fluid movement, he faced Dib, the top of his costume un-zipping, and a large, shiny metal ray-gun looking device popped out of his head. I heard Dib gasp and my eyes widened as a red projectile shot out of it nearly instantaneously.

I watched as it hit Dib in the face, a scream rising in my throat, but then it died as I saw the projectile... _Splatter_ on his face.

Bullets and lasers didn't 'splatter'...

Oh my gosh.

Dib looked as shocked as I felt and I looked to Zim to see him looking between Gir and Dib, eyes wide. Sash had started laughing, of course, and Gir, getting the idea, suddenly started laughing too. I looked back at Dib to see him wiping the stuff of his glasses, a shocked and amused look on his face. "It's... Paint." He said slowly, wiping some of it off of his mouth with a grin.

_Oh my gosh!_

I started laughing my butt off, and Sasha's laughter increased substantially as mine joined it. Even Dib laughed with us, though it was more cruel than I cared for. "Win, Gir! WIN!" I snickered and Gir squealed, scurrying up to me. I blinked in surprise down at him as besides me, Dib started aiming his laughter at Zim.

"Hi!" Gir squeaked a greeting. "Wats that mean?"

I grinned, Gir was so sweet. "That means that you're awesome, what you did was awesome, and that it was generally funny and brilliant and good." I explained, then added. "I'm Casey by the way, call me Cas if you want."

Gir squealed, suddenly running back to Zim to hug his leg. "Did-ya hear that, Master? Cassy-Cas said I did GOOD!"

I grinned. I had a nickname! Aww...

Zim snarled, kicking Gir off of him, which made me frown a bit. Of course, Gir wasn't hurt, but still, that wasn't very kind. "NO, Gir! You did NOT do good! WHY would you fire stupid PAINT at The Dib?!"

Gir looked sad for a moment, making me frown a bit deeper, before he giggled, and I relaxed. "I... Donno." He let out a squeal and started running in circles around Zim, clapping his hands and singing; "I donno. I donno. I donno, I donnnoooooo!" Over and over again. Zim just stared at him, seemingly at a loss for words. So was I, to an extent. Was giggling considered words?

… No. No it wasn't. Crud.

Yeah... I was at a loss for words.

"HA!" Dib shouted, sneering, and I felt my mood plummet again. "This makes me wonder whether your stupid alien race is actually advanced or not!" He grinned maliciously at Zim.

Zim growled a little, fists clenching, and Sasha took a few steps away from him. Whelp, time for me to intervene, I guess. Before someone got... More hurt than they already were... I... Guess...

"_Okay!_" I said, clapping my hands together in front of me and gaining the attention of our little group. "Not that I don't enjoy this... General insanity – I do, really, it's hilariously entertaining – but Sash and I ought to head home, it has just occurred to me that Sasha or I may or may not have left the sink running." That was true. The thought had just occurred to me that I didn't remember either of us turning it off... And now I was twitchy again. Great. I was panicking over whether or not the sink had flooded our house. GREAT!

There was a very real possibility that we would go home, open the door, and see a wall of water with fish swimming in it, stand there for a second, and either close the door, or get swept away by it.

This _was_ a cartoon, after all.

… Then again, that wasn't exactly Jhonen's 'style'. He was less cheep gags and more 'Let me dose my characters with too much karma, irony, and general gross horror for your entertainment, eh?'

… Heh. That's probably why I liked the show so much...

I was probably just paranoid, anyway but STILL! We couldn't pay for water damage!

"Wait." Sasha said, waving a hand. "But I thought it was off when we left?"

"I don't remember, but I thought that _you_ turned it off." I said slowly, making my voice as calm as I could, walking over to her with my hands behind my back, ignoring Zim as he sent me a 'stink-eye'.

In just as calm a tone, Sasha said; "Well, I don't remember if I did or not."

For a moment, we simply stared at each other in silence, my hands behind my back, Sasha's hands at her sides, both our expressions blank, aware that the two boys were staring at us and that Gir had stopped running around to look at us with his head tilted to the side.

I think I heard my emotional dam burst.

"Oh my _God!_" I yelled suddenly, pulling at my hair in horror, not noticing as Zim and Dib jumped at my sudden exclamation. "I think we left the bleeding _sink turned on!_"

"Not even the closet filled with sponges can fix THAT!" Sasha shouted in despair.

"I don't even know what that means but I totally agree!" I screamed. We paused to look each other in the eye, and then released synchronized girly screams of terror, and darted past Zim, starting to sprint down the sidewalk.

I paused however, and darted back to Dib, panting. I pointed at the bewildered Dib's trench coat, which had a few blotches of red paint on it, and said; "Uh... You might wanna soak that in your sink before the paint dries." I was surprised by how calm my voice was, but then I started running again, tossing my last words over my shoulder in a garbled mess. "ByeDibByeZimByeGir seeyoulatergottagoBYE!" I faced forward again, my shoes pounding on concrete. "SASHA! WAIT FOR ME!"

Dib, Zim, and Gir stared after Sash and I as we disappeared. For a moment, they remained silent, just trying to figure out what had happened, then, Gir let out a shrieking laugh. "I like your new friends, Master!" He shouted.

Zim growled and face-palmed.

* * *

><p>I was right behind Sasha as she flung the door open with a scream and ran inside. I had reached the stoop behind her – she was a MUCH faster runner than me – and darted in. Or rather, I WOULD have darted in, only the door had other plans. Said plans being to slam into the wall it was hinged to and slam closed just as I stuck my face in the doorway.<p>

It, obviously, smacked me in the face.

"OWCH! BLOODY H-_GAH!_" I shouted, cutting off my swear as I was sent flying onto my butt, rubbing my sore nose that had, thankfully, saved my glasses. I certainly didn't have enough money to buy new ones, and I sure as HECK was not going to wear my prescription sunglasses if they broke! I'D LOOK SO TOTALLY STUPID!

My pain quickly disappeared as panic reared it's ugly head, and I flung the door open, kicking it shut and ignoring the new hole in the wall from the door know – thanks Sasha – as I darted inside and rushed into the living room. I tripped my way around the couch and rushed into the kitchen to see...

Sasha.

Sitting on the island-counter.

Eating a cookie from a cookie jar.

In the perfectly normal, and _dry,_ kitchen.

Wow.

"Thank _goodness._" I said, sighing loudly and allowing my shoulders to slump. Sasha grinned at me, stuffing yet another cookie into her mouth, crumbs speckling her chin. I spotted her bag on the table and slid mine off, sighing in relief. It was a lot harder carrying one of those around than you would think! "Get me a cookie, will ya?" I asked as I crossed the room to the chair that Sasha had used to hop up onto the island. I crawled up there too and sat next to her as she pulled a cookie out of the jar and handed it to me. "Thanks... I didn't know we had a cookie jar." I said, biting into my treat.

"Mh." Sasha said simply, grinning a bit.

We sat in silence for a few moments, eating cookies out of the cookie jar Sasha had set between us. It was nice, peaceful. Much better than the initial panic I'd felt.

"Today was fun." Sasha commented, grinning.

"Mm-Hmm." I nodded, cookie in my mouth. I swallowed, and frowned. "Except that the only one who seems to like me even _slightly_ is Gir."

"Aww." Sasha said. "Don't feel bad, I'm sure you'll find a way to convince people to like you – you're clever like that. And besides, Gir's awesome! If he didn't like you, you'd have something seriously wrong with you!"

I laughed. "Yeah, how many people can say that Gir doesn't like them?"

"Like... I donno. Two?" Sasha asked, and we laughed.

"Well, at least no one seems to have any REAL problems with you. What's with that?" I asked, looking at her sideways.

"I'm special!"

"You sure are..." I muttered, laughing when Sasha shouted a 'HEY!' and elbowed me. My laughing turned to frowning though as a thought arose. "Hey Sasha?" I asked, brow furrowing. "Have you noticed anything _weird_ about-"

I was interrupted as a sudden, cheery 'Ding~Dong!' rang through the house. Sasha grinned. "Door Bell!" Sasha cheered. "Not it!"

I groaned. "And I suppose that _I _am, huh?" Sasha nodded and I groaned again. "_I got it..._" I muttered, hopping down to ground level. I sent a glare at the giggling Sasha as I moped my way out of the kitchen. I reached the door, wondering who it could be and sighed through my nose, composing myself. I managed a smile, and opened it. "Hell..._o?_" I started to ask, only to have my voice end in a squeak and my jaw drop as my eyes widened.

_No... No way. It can't be!_ I thought, terrified.

The red headed, glasses wearing man sporting the midnight black trench coat and the gray-green Question Sleep (Z?) t-shirt of around thirty years of age grinned down at me pleasantly. "Hey." He said. "I'm Jhonen Vasquez."

* * *

><p><strong>Eeeh? Eeeeeeh? Was this good? Did you like this? Then GREAT!<strong>

**But now, my readers, I have something to ask of you.**

**I have a veeerrryyy verryyy large amount of plot ideas relating to this story. And a lot of ways to figure them out. So let me explain a few things.**

**I, at first, wanted to write out ALL of the episodes for this story! Yeah, sounds awesome, right? Ha! For you maybe, but I, the slow writer that I am, knows that that is almost impossible for me to do.**

**SO, I will only be using a FEW of the Episodes from the series. Only ones that will advance the plot.**

**However, I MIGHT - might meaning most probably will - use a few, non-plot-progressing ones, because, come on, some of these episodes are my favorites and I'd love to use them!**

**BUT! I would like to hear YOUR favorite episodes. That's right dear reader! YOU GET TO HELP ME WRITE THIS STORY! (not that you DON'T help me already, what with all your amazing reviews!)**

**SO, I would like to hear what YOUR favorite episodes are, and which ones you would like to see in the story!**

**So, leave a review, of course, but also mention an episode! I'll look through all the reviews and decide on a few things, and then you'll see what will be in!**

**Also, feel free to message me with your opinion too!**

**Now please, review and tell me your opinions!**


	10. That jerk

**Hello again, everyone! I've updated! It's shorter, compared to the last one, but that's because THEY'RE MY CHAPTERS AND I CAN MAKE THEM AS LONG AS I WANT, MUA HA HA HA!**

**...**

**Ha, no. Not really. It's just a shorter Chapter.**

**BUT! I do have an announcement.**

**I am still open to all episode requests, but because it is the next chapter, I will NOT count any reviews on THIS chap. that are JUST THE EPISODES!**

**I'm sorry. But, I think it would be kinda rude at this point to review ONLY with what you want in the story.**

**You're still welcome to it, okay? Just leave some feedback! Even a simple 'this was funny!' or, 'this was cool!' is acceptable.**

**THEN you can rant about which ep. you want all you want to, kay?**

**Cheers!**

* * *

><p>…<p>

This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening, this wasn't freaking _happening!_

No, no, no, no, no, no! NOPE! Not happening. This was some sort of crazy dream and I needed to FREAKING WAKE UP NOW!

…

I wasn't waking up. WHY wasn't I waking up?

It was crazy! All of this! It-

…

Crazy, that was it! Yes! I was crazy, I'd snapped! Gone bonkers! Taken the dive. And now I was laying on the ground twitching somewhere, drooling, and imagining all this because, Jhonen Vazquez was _not_ at the door.

Sure, I could buy the whole 'teleported into Invader Zim' thing. Yes. But Jhonen actually taking time out of his day to visit? Nu-uh. I was crazy... Unless...

Unless he _wasn't_ here to visit.

…

Crud.

"Uhm..." Jhonen's voice snapped me out of it and I blinked, spotting him looking down at me with slightly narrowed eyes. A small part of me cursed my shortness. "I'm at the right house, aren't I? You're Casey? Or... Sasha is it? No, wait, _you're_ Casey, yeah."

Oh. He knew our names.

Heh.

AND our faces.

_Crud_.

Before me stood THE Jhonen Vazquez, comic, TV show, and apparent UNIVERSE creator, and one of my idols. He somehow knew my name and he somehow was aware enough of his own universe creating skills to know where Sasha and I – the intruders of his domain – were, and here he was, standing on the doorstep of the house that my friend and I had commandeered looking moderately confused, as far as I could tell – his face didn't give away much.

That scared me a bit, of course. I didn't like not being able to read someone.

And I could guesswhy he was here, and if I was right, it sure as _heck_ wasn't to welcome us to the neighborhood.

Ever so slowly, I closed the door, all the while watching Mr. Vasquez's increasingly confused face. The door slid shut with a soft, peaceful click, and I calmly turned around. I stood there, silent or a moment and stared blankly ahead as thoughts rushed through my head, trying to collect and solidify. I was half excited and over joyed and half terrified.

I wanted to run screaming into my room and hide there forever, honestly, because this was just too weird. Jhonen was here! HERE!

I paused in my freaking out suddenly and blinked. Yes... Jhonen was here, true. And, even if he was 'cartoonized'... He was still just a guy. A guy I admired a lot, sure, but a _human_ guy nonetheless...

I needed to calm down. So what if he was JHONEN! So WHAT?! He was just a person!

Shaking a little, steeling myself, I turned back around and opened the door again, staring up at Jhonen, who looked rather confused. "... Hi." I said, blinking widely.

Jhonen quirked an eyebrow a little, half grinning. "Uh, hello. I... Suppose I should have introduced myself a little more... Subtly."

"Oh, naaah." I said, shaking my head a little, still feeling... Off, I guess would be the way to explain it. Oooh, maybe I'd gone into shock? "I would've shut the door in your face _regardless_ of how you introduced yourself." I giggled awkwardly. "Uh... I guess you probably wanna come in or something..." I said, opening the door wider and stepping aside.

Jhonen grinned, stepping inside. "Well, yes, it _is_ kinda 'my' house but, you know, 'politeness'." He certainly acted like it was his house. He strolled into the living room, not showing any of that usual... Ah, _timidness,_ someone would normally show while entering a house they didn't live in. "Oooh!" He said as I pushed the door shut, turning around to stare at him as he stood in the middle of the room, hands on his hips and a grin on his face. "You put up _curtains!_ Homey." He sent me a cheeky grin.

"Yeah... _Homey._" I said slowly, walking, slow like my words, towards the kitchen, unconsciously inching my way around the grinning red-head. "Uhm, give me a sec... I gotta get Sasha... Uh... Do whatever you want to, I guess..." I said, and darted into the kitchen.

Sasha looked up at me from her spot sitting in the chair we'd used to get onto the counter top. She raised an eyebrow at me as I quickly darted up to her. "What? What is it? Who was at the door?" She asked, swallowing a mouthful of cookie – the crumbs of which were still on her chin – and sounding slightly worried. I must've looked a little freaked out or something...

Well of course I did.

Who wouldn't?!

I gulped, praying to all Gods known to man – and woman – that she wouldn't freak. "Uh... No one in particular..." I said slowly. My voice was a BIT higher than normal, however, and Sasha narrowed her eyes at me. "And, uh, well... I let them in for... Reasons..." I said slowly, then quickly continued, deciding to get it over with. "And by that, I mean that _Jhonen Vasquez is making himself at home in the living room._" I closed one eye and hunched my shoulders, giving her a nervous look, waiting for Sash to Fan-S'plode.

For a second, a crazy grin spread over her face, her eyes lighting up, and then, to my surprise, it was gone, and she was laughing. I stared at her in confusion. "Oh come ON, Casey!" Sasha said, seeing my look. "Did you honestly think that I'd believe that?" She snorted. "That was a pretty weak joke."

I stared at he before frowning. "I'm SERIOUS!" I said, throwing up my hands. "Why would I kid about – _welll..._ I see what you're getting at, but I'm being serious right now! He's really there!"

Sasha rolled her eyes, hopping off of the counter. "SUUREE! And I'm the magical talking notebook of Yack!" She snickered at her own joke before yelping as I suddenly grabbed her arm and started to drag her towards the door. "CASEEEYY" She whined. "Stop it!" She pouted at me.

"No." I said quite plainly. I wasn't lying and – crazy meltdown via Sasha or not – she was gonna see that.

I easily dragged her into the living room and spotted Jhonen just... Standing in the middle of the room, hands in his trench coat pockets as he shifted from heel to toe, humming to himself. Weirdly normal. Huh. Okay? He spotted Sash and I, and I heard Sasha gasp as he grinned widely at us.

_"See?"_ I snapped, releasing Sasha to point at him, other fist clenched at my side. I stopped my – embarrassingly Zimmish – pose in favor of defaulting to my tilted hip, arms crossed pose. I raised my eyebrow at her as she stared at Jhonen in shock, mouth opening and closing for a moment as her wide eyes seemed to come close to bursting.

"Casey... That's Jhonen Vasquez." Sasha stated after a moment, pointing at the red-headed man and looking at me, as if I _didn't_ know that already.

"Hi." Said Jhonen. He raised a hand and half waved.

"That's Jhonen Vasquez." I confirmed with a nod, grinning nervously.

"He's standing in the living room." Sasha said.

"He _is_ standing in the living room." I repeated, nodding again, that twitchy, nervous grin still on my face. Dang I wish it would go away.

Sasha blinked at me, and then suddenly grinned and I mentally shuddered. It was her infamous 'Evil' and 'Spooky' grin. "Can I _hug_ him?" She asked quietly, starting to shake in excitement.

"No!" I snapped, slightly horrified, and Jhonen snickered. I looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose you're used to that, huh?" I asked before my voice could get that 'squeaky' tone to it again.

"Yes." Said Jhonen, grinning. "The horror of it tends to fade in and out, though... Depending on my sanity that day." He said this all so seriously I could only raise an eyebrow at him. Okay... So he WAS a little insane after all... Point to the Fangirls, I guess.

I was slightly surprised when he grinned again. He was pretty cheerful for someone who found it so easy to slide into a cynical and dark state of mind in his works.

"What are you doing here?!" Sasha asked, grinning excitedly, then she suddenly frowned, taking a step back and seeming to shrink a little. "Are we in trouble?"

I frowned too, looking at Jhonen nervously and yet defiantly. If he blamed US for this whole thing, then he was gonna get it! It _wasn't_ our fault! And if he thought that it _was..._

"Oh, no." Jhonen said, shaking his head. I just stopped by to see how you two were... Adjusting..." He said slowly.

Sasha and I blinked at him. "_Adjusting?_" I echoed, staring at him. "Uh, well... Good, I think... We got jobs, and we're using this place for shelter..." That sounded pretty lame, actually. I wasn't sure if it was just the tone of my voice or the actual content.

"AND we're going to 'Skool'!" Sasha added, her voice a bit more enthusiastic than mine. Of course it was, Sasha was a much more cheerful person. Thank goodness for that. I depressed myself enough on my own. "That's fun!" She continued.

I nodded at her words, and Jhonen nodded. "Yes, I'd noticed." At my raised eyebrow, he continued. "I... _Might_ have been keeping an eye on you." He shrugged, not seeming to care about my shocked look. "What? You expected me _not_ to keep an eye on you two?"

I blinked. "Uhh... Well, no... It was, sorta... _Expected..._ But hearing it makes it sound... Slightly creepy... And stalkerish." I admitted, frowning a little. Jhonen was creeeeeepy...

"_I_ think it's cool!" Sasha said, grinning. She didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that we'd been watched by a man we didn't know – at least not personally – for an unknown amount of time and in an unknown way. Nope. Didn't bug her, apparently.

Guh. Sometimes I wished I had her ability to not over-think things and just accept them...

I just elbowed her and shook my head, rolling my eyes.. I looked at Jhonen, raising an eyebrow. "Er... _How_ were you watching us? Like... Through the window? Or... As an omnipresent entity?"

To my surprise, Jhonen laughed. "You like asking questions, don't you?" He asked and I blushed a little in embarrassment. He just laughed again. "Why don't we sit down? I'll explain... Well, not everything – what fun would _that_ be – but some useful... Stuff."

"Uhm, sure." I said, stealing a glance at Sasha before starting towards the couch. Sash and I sat down and I watched nervously as Jhonen pushed the coffee table back slightly and sat down on it, folding his legs into a pretzel. He grinned at us expectantly and, feeling a bit awkward, I glanced at Sasha. She was just grinning – albeit sheepishly – at everything.

"So!" Jhonen said a bit loudly, breaking the awkward silence. "How did you two get here, anyway?"

I blinked at him. I was, admittedly, _pretty_ distrustful of 'Jhonen' who, as far as I was guessing, was actually just the real Jhonen's cameo. Of course, he was the real Jhonen HERE, but... Not in the real world... Though this world WAS pretty real...

… I should stop thinking like that. I'm confusing myself.

Anyway, I didn't totally trust him. Sure, he was JHONEN, and probably knew how we ended up here, ect. But... I just couldn't completely trust him – just hope that he'd tell the truth, I guess...

Trust... Now that was something I was skittish about... I trusted almost everyone of the people I knew, and yet... I didn't. No. Not completely, at least... Sasha was the exact opposite, of course. She trusted only certain people, and they were always the kind of people she _knew_ she could trust...

I heaved a sigh, steeling myself and telling myself to get over it, and started talking.

"Well..." I started slowly. "Sasha and I were camping..."

Jhonen interrupted me, looking interested. "Are you two sisters?"

I shook my head. "Uh... No..." I said, blinking. Why did everyone ask that?

"I wish!" Sasha said grinning and I sent her a smile.

"Oh." Jhonen said slowly before continuing. "How old are you?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. Weird questions... But Jhonen was a weird guy. "We're both fourteenish... I would've been fifteen in October, but we seem to have gone to September here... Which is neat." I said.

Jhonen immediately looked surprised. "What? Really? Fourteen? WOW you guys are short."

I gave him a flat look. "Thanks." I deadpanned, ignoring his somewhat amused smile. "Anyway, we were camping, planning on doing some writing and stuff – we had snacks, which was fun – when..." I blinked. "Wait, it was the lantern!" I clarified. Or rather, remembered. Geeze, I needed to work on my memory...

"Lantern?" Jhonen asked, seeming interested. "What lantern? What happened?"

And then, to my surprise, Sasha spoke up, sounding... Guilty? "Uhm, there was this old lantern – it was my dad's – and we were drinking soda, you know? And I tried throwing one to Casey, but it missed an hit the lantern."

"And that sent you here?" Jhonen asked, seeming to get excited, but Sasha shook her head and he seemed to calm down, a little disappointed.

"Uh, no. It just shut it off, so Casey managed to get it working again, and then I opened the soda, you know? And it sorta... Spilled all over the lantern. So I waited outside our tent – we were camping in the back yard." She smiled faintly before continuing. "Uhm, anyway, Cas went to go get a towel from the house, but then our bags suddenly rolled into the tent so I stuck my head in to see what was up and saw this weird, swirling, purplish portal thingy and I, well... I... Poked it."

Jhonen blinked. "You... POKED... It?" He repeated, not seeming to believe his ears as he stared at her, leaning forward a little. "Why would you _do_ that?"

Sasha shrugged, not meeting his gaze and I immediately felt sympathetic. "I dunno... I just did... It was really stupid and it sent us here and it's all my fault!" She looked at Jhonen, now. "I'm _really _sorry!"

It was funny how a shock like seeing Jhonen – freaking – Vasquez could snap Sasha out of her guiltless daze and actually GET to her like this... Make her feel guilty...

… I didn't like it.

Not one bit. Not one freaking BIT.

"Oi!" I snapped angrily, and Sasha jumped, looking from Jhonen to me. "Don't blame this on yourself! Don't you dare!" I poked her shoulder with a finger, glaring at her with a raised eyebrow. "It was a freak-flippin'-accident! Okay?" I looked at the slightly surprised Jhonen. "_Okay?_"

Jhonen immediately held up his hands. "_I _wasn't going to blame anyone, actually." He said, sounding a bit snappish.

I snorted a little and looked at Sasha. "Good." I muttered, then grinned when I saw Sasha regaining a lop-sided smile. Something flicked in my brain and I looked back at Jhonen. "How DID we get here, anyway?" I asked. "Worm-hole?"

Jhonen raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak only to pause, blinking at me. "Uh, yes, actually..." He said slowly.

"Figured." I muttered, frowning. I wanted to know exactly _how_ the worm-hole had sent us here, and why. Of course I did, I was just naturally curious! But, I doubted that Jhonen knew how to fully explain the mechanics of a worm-hole. "So, what? It was just a random coincidence that WE got sent here, right? Of _course_ it was. But WHY here? WHY an _Invader Zim_ Universe of all places?! And _why_ **is** there an Invader Zim Universe in the first place?" I gave him a look while Sasha just looked vaguely interested.

Jhonen looked slightly overwhelmed for a moment before, surprisingly, he pouted. "Well, I guess I can't easily impress _you._" He muttered sourly. "Darn."

"I read a lot." I deadpanned, not totally surprised by the man's childishness. "Now _explain..._ Please." I added, some shyness and fear crawling back because – _Jhonen,_ people, _Jhonen._

Jhonen 'psh'-ed before putting his hands in his lap. "Well, look at it this way – you just happened to make your camp in a _weak spot_ in your Universe. A weak 'Wall', if you will. A wall is where two universes touch." He added, though I had figured as much. "Apparently, the energy released from the lantern, or whatever was in the soda _combined_ with the lantern, was just enough to poke a hole in the wall, a _worm-hole._"

I nodded a bit. "Cool." I admitted.

"_Awesome!_" Said Sasha.

"Anyway," Jhonen continued, seemingly ignoring us. "Something called Multiverse Theory says that there are infinite amounts of universes – and dimensions – surrounding us, all spinning and doing their own thing. But they're _moving_ too... Like bubbles floating in a bath tub that has some sort of freaky current thing going for it. When they bump together, it's called a 'Clash', and sometimes Clashes make 'Walls'. Sometimes they're BIG, HUGE things, like the Bermuda Triangle – but that's still kinda small compared to some Walls – and sometimes they're small, like the one you two accidentally tapped into.

"But, you gotta wonder what's _in_ the other universes, right? Infinite universes, all over the place, and we've got no idea what's in them, right? Well... We've got SOME ideas... Mostly because we make half of them, or they – 'they' being images or things from a different universe – bleed into our dreams sometimes and bring us 'original' ideas... Like an H.P. Lovecraft sort of thing. The guy wasn't insane, he was just more susceptible to other universes." Jhonen added.

"Wait, wait." Sasha interrupted Jhonen, who'd started waving his hands around and making faces as he talked. Kinda like I did... Wow. I really WAS insane, wasn't I? "You said 'make'." Sash continued. "We can't MAKE universes! … Can we?" She looked from Jhonen to me and I felt the barest tickle of an idea in the back of my head. Nothing solid, but a theory, at least...

"Well," the red-head continued, looking a little annoyed at being interrupted, yet amused by Sasha's curiosity. "There's this thing called a Tulpa-"

My gasp interrupted him and he and Sash's heads snapped around to look at me as I covered my mouth, the theory that had been tickling at me before now flooding my mind. "Casey? Casey, you okay? What is it?" Sasha asked. Her eyes widened as I suddenly giggled.

"No way... No freaking _way!_" I said to myself. That... That was incredible! All... All the new _possibilities!_ All the new ideas, theories, what-have-you, it was _**amazing!**_

"You know what a Tulpa is?" Jhonen asked, seeming mildly surprised.

I, in return, was mildly offended. "I read... _A lot._" I repeated my earlier statement, crossing my arms and glaring at him. "I watch a lot of Syfy, too..." I admitted, frowning and blushing.

"But what's a TULPA?!" Sasha snapped, and I immediately felt bad for ignoring her.

"A thoughtform!" I said excitedly. When she just stared at me blankly I blinked, giving her a disbelieving look. "_Really_?" I asked. "_Really? _You of all people don't know what a _thoughtform_ is?!" I would have thought that SASHA would know, seeing as it could be categorized under her interests...

Sasha shook her head, looking vaguely annoyed. "Uhm, nooo... What is it?"

Jhonen spoke up. "It's mental energy manifested into something real through concentration. Sorta a... Brain-fart." He grinned.

Sasha just blinked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Uhm..."

"Okay!" I started, getting an idea, though amused by Jhonen's comment.

I'd just explain it in the way that she'd understand the most easily, then.

With a reference to television.

Brilliant.

So began the monologue.

"Remember that one 'Supernatural' episode? Where those two – idiotic – ghost hunters were putting photos of that old house up on their website? And they took a photo of that one symbol painted on the wall? And it turned out to be one of those Tibetan 'mind-focusing' symbols? So when they told those stories about the man who murdered everyone, and how his ghost still haunted the place, everyone who read about it believed them, and thought about it _soooo_ much that they made a 'fake' ghost?" I rambled, motioning with my hands a lot.

"Oh, yeah!" Sasha gasped, blinking. "Everyone thought about it so much that it came true – they _made_ the ghost with their minds! COOOOL!" She frowned. "But what does that have to do with this...?"

"Well, think of it this way;" Jhonen piped up and I looked over at him to see his slightly amused look. "THIS universe is a Tulpa-Universe, which means a bunch of people thought about Invader Zim enough to actually make a universe... And more than one, of course, seeing as everyone has their own opinion or way of interpreting something." He grinned a little. "It was just dumb luck that you two managed to get into one and not a Zombie-Apocalypse universe or an airless universe or something else horrifying and potentially deadly..."

Sash and I mulled that over for a moment. That was... Kinda scary, knowing that we could've just as easily died as come into THIS universe... We could have died, _period._

We were insanely lucky and just thinking about what _could_ have happened made the pit of my stomach drop into an imaginary bottomless pit.

So I just decided to count my lucky stars and try not to think about it, anymore.

"Wait." Sasha said. "You said more than one – and I get what that means; that there's more than one Invader Zim universe and we managed to land in one, I'm not _super_ stupid – but... Does that mean that _other_ TV shows could have their own universes?" That was a valid – and interesting – question and I leaned forward to hear Jhonen's answer.

He just nodded, shrugging. "Yep."

"Coooool!" Sasha squealed, laughing. I was about to join in, but...

Oh.

Oh, no...

I'd been pushing this thought away a lot, but... I... Had to ask...

"... How do we get home?"

My quiet comment made both Sasha and Jhonen's eyes widen as they looked at me. Sasha with sudden fear, and Jhonen with shock. He blinked at me before his head tilted and I got the feeling that he was looking away from us. He shifted uncomfortably. "To be honest, I have no idea..." He said quietly and I felt my stomach sink. He looked back at us. "The worm hole you two came in through collapsed in on itself as soon as you entered this universe, and another one has yet to open that leads back to your world... And, well, it's nearly impossible to predict when one might. It could be days, it could be years, it's impossible to tell..."

Sasha and I sat in silence for a moment, thinking.

So... We might never be able to go home? We might never see our parents again? Our pets? Our friends? Our family? Teachers?

… That... Wasn't good... No. Not at all... But...

… I... Didn't feel all that bad about it, honestly... It wasn't the end of the world... And, knowing the Invader Zim universe, sooner or later a worm-hole would appear, right?

… Well... I'd just have to hope for the best... Right? That's all I could do at this point.

Hope for the best, and live my life to the best of my abilities in this world...

And... Hey! I was pretty good at 'IZ-style', wasn't I? I could probably make a living doing 'realism' drawings.

Oh, how ironic.

I looked over at Sasha to see that she looked vaguely lost, and I put a hand on her shoulder.

"There's something else I have to tell you." Jhonen said after a moment and Sash and I looked up at him, blinking. "You transported here at the beginning of the 'series' so to speak. Right now, we're right after the 'first episode' – you two missed it 'house hunting'. But more importantly, that changes a LOT of things." He blinked. "Seeing as you're now in the beginning of the series, the future is now more... Fuzzy than it should be."

We raised our eyebrows at him and he continued.

"It won't be _too _different, of course, this universe will still follow the 'episode' time line, but now you two are in it, and it's gonna be slightly off and more susceptible."

I thought that over for a second. "So, what? It's like... A series re-start?" I asked. "Does that basically mean that _anything _could happen in the 'episodes'?" A bit of fear crawled into my voice. This was weird...

According to Jhonen, Sasha and I somehow affected the universe to the point where things could change...

… I did not like the ideas rushing through my head – accedental character death, missing episodes... Just... Creepy, paradox-ish time-warpy junk that wasn't exactly pleasant to reside on...

… Man, I watched WAY too much Doctor Who. One glance at Sasha told me that she wasn't NEARLY as freaked out as I was...

Dang.

"Yes." Jhonen said, answering my question and bringing me out of my internal arguments and worries. "But it also means that it's _your_ universe, so to speak." He stood and walked behind the couch, making Sash and I turn around in our seats and kneel, watching him over the back of it as he paced. "Of course, you _don't_ have any really overwhelming control over it, but you _influence_ it." He grinned. "To put it simply, it's like **real** life now. It's not gonna change _that_ much. It'll still follow the episodes and such, like I'd said, but now you two _interact_ with it. It's like someone re-wrote the series and put you two in it, just as you are now, with all the same knowledge... Literally _anything _could happen, at this point."

I frowned, glancing at Sasha who looked as confused as I felt. "But... We're not _that_ influential, are we? We're not THAT special! We can't be!" I argued, looking over at Jhonen, who smirked.

"That's just it, isn't it? You AREN'T! At least, not in you're own universe, you aren't." He glanced at us before continuing his pacing, hands behind his back. "But here, you _know_ things. You understand things, you have knowledge of what is going to happen next – to an extent. And you _know_ your characters." He sent a pointed glance at me that left me feeling confused. "You COULD be a big influence... But, of course, we don't know that for sure yet, do we? You've yet to influence anything too much, other than adding a bit more paranoia, and, really, it all depends on how you react and what you do..." He stopped, looking at us. "It IS real life now, new lives, for the both of you..." He frowned, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry this happened to you two, I really am. You're young, and I doubt that an adult could have handled this all as well as you have... And I feel rotten about it, but now I have to leave."

I blanched. "What?! You're leaving? After saying all this crazy science-y stuff?" If possible, I felt more confused now than I had been before Sasha looked equally as confused and angered as I did.

"You can't just DO that!" Sasha yelled and we jumped off the couch as Jhonen started for the door.

To our surprise, Jhonen gave us a cheeky grin as Sash and I stood by the couch. glaring after him. "Well, you know, I've got places to be, people to meet!" He opened the door. "You should be fine, as long as you don't do anything too stupid. It's a cartoon, but that doesn't mean you're indestructible! But, if you get into some serious trouble – and I mean life-or-death-or-potential-injury serious – then just call my name." And with that, he stepped out the door, a grin plastered on his face. "Have fun!" He called, then disappeared out of our site and into the now dark outside, the door slamming shut behind him.

That jerk.

Sasha and I stood there, looking at the door in shock . We stood like that for a minute or two before Sasha looked at me, eyes wide. "What just happened?" She asked, voice horse.

I blinked, slowly. "I... Think Jhonen just came into our commandeered home and told us that we've been sucked into – and are now stuck in for an unknown amount of time – a mold-able universe created by a bunch of people who thought about Invader Zim for so long because they had no life that it became energy, then a universe or dimension or whatever, and that it's now a 'blank page' of sorts for us to interact with. I think he expects us to live here, now." I said, voice flat.

"... Ah." Sasha said quietly. "So... What do we do now?"

I sighed, suddenly rubbing at my temples as a headache suddenly bloomed and festered. "Well, _I'm_ gonna take a nice, long, _warm_ shower and go to bed and _try_ to wrap my head around all this." I looked at her. "What are you gonna do?" I asked, concerned for her.

Sasha blinked. "Eat a candy bar and listen to my music until I fall asleep and try not to go more insane than I already am."

A usual Sashanistic response.

"Excellent." I said and walked off to my room to get some clothes.

My mind was such a mess... I didn't even know what to concentrate on anymore... Or whether I was still sane or not.

I was gonna have to sleep this one off...

That _jerk._

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><p><strong>Ta-da! Yet another chapter, finished!<strong>_  
><em>

**Many apologies if you did not like how I've portrayed Jhonen. Seeing as I've never met him, nor know him as closely as i know my Invader Zim Cannon characters, I could not be too accurate.**

**And Jhonen, if you ever see my work, or this chapter - like in my nightmares - I am TERRIBLY sorry.**

**...**

**Personally, this Chap felt a little rushed to me.**

**I re-wrote it a couple of times, though, because I didn't like how any of them turned out.**

**I guess it's just one of those Chapters you always feel is terrible...**

**(truth be told, one of the original chapter-versions had a lot of Casey-ranting going on... Maybe when this whole story is over, I'll post it as a separate 'spoof' story?)**


	11. Pinned

**Well hello again, everyone! Hi! I am _sooooo_ sorry for not updating sooner! I'd meant to do this on Monday - or maybe even Tuesday - but I started School on Tuesday, and it's _high school_ so it was REALLY hectic, and I didn't exactly like how this chapter was coming out - near the end - so I was kinda procrastinating working on it and I'm really just making excuses right now, so sorry!**

**Read away, loves!**

* * *

><p>…<p>

I did not sleep well _at all._

After taking a nearly hour long shower – which wasn't very unusual for me, seeing as I was kinda stupid like that – I dressed in some PJ's – surprised to find that some were actually brought along... Though altered from what they originally looked like (Not necessarily a bad thing) – and crawled off to my room, hearing Sasha faintly moving around in her room across the hall.

The walls here were weirdly thin for things that kept in the tortured screams of Johnny's victims.

Must've been a Waste Lock thing.

My room was simple and light in color. The walls were a light blue – they reminded me of my walls back home, but I tired not to think about that – and kinda dusty, but that could be ignored. I had a bed against one wall, two circular lamp desks on either side – the bed was still a bit dusty and made me sneeze when I plopped down into it – my window was neat, seeing as it had that little 'chair' part right under it – I'd have to get a cushion for it one day – and across from my bed – to the left of my closet; the closet's right – was a large desk with large drawers and a small space for legs.

I mused over how long I would have to work at 'Books A Plenty' to get enough money to buy some new furniture or new clothes, decided I didn't really wanna do the math right now – or EVER, really – and grabbed a book from my bedside table to read, trying – vainly – to fend of the somewhat depressing thoughts rushing through my head.

In the end, I just dropped the book back on the bedside table and lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling, chewing on the ends of my glasses and feeling depressed and somewhat blank – unable to really... _Feel._

I _hated_ that about myself... I never felt as though I could _feel_ right... Like my emotions were muted... Like I couldn't access it all, or that others felt more than me...

It was a pretty depressing feeling.

Eventually... I fell asleep... I might've cried for a few minutes, though... I can't remember...

Morning came too soon, seeing as I drifted in and out of sleep and tossed and turned almost constantly. My glasses had fallen to the ground and, thankfully, weren't damaged and I got up at five to shut off my alarm as it started blaring out it's song, slapping on my glasses as I stumbled over to my desk.

I glanced over at my door after I scrambled across the room to shut it off, listening, and when I didn't hear anything that sounded like Sasha waking up in an irritated state of mind, I sighed and quietly snuck into the kitchen, hungry.

However, we didn't actually have any 'food', yet... Just snacks, which – as much as I would love to – we couldn't eat for forever. PLUS, we were getting a little low on them in general.

Also, my butt was big enough on it's own, thank-you-very-much. I didn't need any help from a diet of junk-food.

I grabbed a small, pocket sized notebook from my backpack – bringing the bag along to the table with me – and sat at the kitchen table, snacking on Fig Newtons and making a list of things we needed and just things in general, trying not to think about certain things too much.

I still felt muted, though... And, well, maybe that was good... Maybe I wouldn't get depressed, then.

Or maybe I already was depressed... I don't know... I might have been... But I couldn't really tell...

It was all rather annoying, really. I ought to just deal with it and get on with living...

But I was too human for that. Nah... This would all bug me for a while.

Well, after procrastinating it for a bit, I managed to work out how much Sash and I would make a week – we'd make $150 a week adding our sums together, if you were wondering – though I hated math with a burning passion. I figured that Mr. Berg didn't know that we didn't have any pa-

I felt a jab of pain in my chest and paused as I wrote for a second. I swallowed, before continuing my writing and my thoughts.

- _parents_, so he didn't know that we'd need the money to live.

Then again, maybe he just didn't like kids?

… Yeah, that was probably it.

Jerk.

CHEAP jerk.

Guh, anyway, it wasn't the end of the world, seeing as I had fifty or sixty dollars in cash on me... thank goodness I hadn't bothered to get a bank account... Yay for laziness, I suppose...

'Yay'.

I looked down at my list of groceries and things that needed doing, and sighed. Great. We needed a lot, grocery-wise – I'd kept the list down to what we'd need the most to make us happy, like eggs (for Sasha) and pancake mix – and I didn't have a lot of money...

Oh well... At least food probably didn't cost much here... Hopefully at least. I mean, everything was cheap _looking. _It had to be cheap when it came to _buying _stuff, right?

Eh, here's hoping, I guess.

There was a loud yawn to my right suddenly and I looked up – realizing I'd started doodling instead of writing, silly, procrastinating me – and saw Sasha walking into the room, rubbing at her eyes. She was dressed in a purple tank-top with a large white paw print on the chest and gray sweatpants with a white star pattern. She blinked her eyes a little and yawned again. "Good morning..." She mumbled, voice raspy and quiet.

I blinked at her, grinning suddenly. "Morning Sash!" I said cheerfully, which was weird, seeing as I wasn't a morning person.

Sasha only groaned. "It's too early for your cheerfulness..." She mumbled, opening her eyes. She then blinked at me. "... Are you wearing boxers?" She asked, pointing at me and looking a little surprised.

I gave her a look. "Yes." I said, glancing down at my outfit. I was wearing a baggy T-shirt with a TARDIS printed on it and boxer-shorts with the words 'The Avengers' scattered on it randomly. I looked back up at her. "I don't like wearing pants, you know." I said.

Honestly, she DID know that... She should have expected something like this too, seeing as I tended to do weird, random crud like this often... Especially in the morning...

Also, I'd been too lazy to put pants on anyway, and she knew I was lazy in general.

Sasha stared at me a moment before a very crooked smile appeared on her face. "Are you an _alien,_ then?" She joked, raising an eyebrow.

I snorted, rolling my eyes and she laughed, walking over to the table and taking a seat. She casually swiped some of my fig-bars – thieving swine! – and proceeded to stuff her mouth with them as she peered down at my list curiously.

"Mhph. What-cha writin', anyway?" She asked after swallowing her mouthful of food.

I rolled my eyes at her rudeness. "A grocery list. Also, I figured out our salary total for each week while you were sleeping, so now we can plan what to buy. BUT, we're gonna have to go out for groceries soon..." I added, shaking the now empty plastic wrapping of fig-bars with a disappointed look. Aww... I'd liked those...

Sasha groaned. _"Today?"_ She complained, crossing her arms on the table and resting her chin on them. "I was gonna paint pictures on my walls... _Creepy_ pictures." She added, in case I didn't get it the first time.

I had, actually... I was, honestly, so used to her saying things like that that it had been expected.

… Man, she was silly sometimes...

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, I guess we can do it tomorrow..." I said slowly, then blinked. "Actually, that would be _better_, seeing as today is Saturday... Especially seeing as most people like to go out on Saturdays and do their shopping today and Sundays are just like a day to be all; 'oh, I'm gonna be lazy today and sit at the computer and waste my life, yuck, yuck, yuck.' or they go to church or something..." I grinned, standing up and pushing my chair in. "Yeah, we'll do that tomorrow, then!" I decided. I looked at Sasha, only to realize that she'd fallen asleep during my rant and wasn't even listening anymore.

There was no talking to her in that state, I tell you... Not unless you wanted to lose a few digits.

I sighed. "Great. She fell asleep..." I blinked. "Aaaand now I'm talking to myself – not that I wasn't already... Lovely." I shook my head and looked around the kitchen until I spotted a clock above the sliding glass doors – which revealed that the sun was now hovering over the horizon.

It was around seven now... Wow. I'd gotten up early... Weird. Normally I ignore my alarm...

After a moment of thinking, I grabbed the notebook, scribbled down a note about taking a walk around the neighborhood, and rushed off to my room to change into day clothes and fix my hair, which was _horrible._ I should have dried it before bed... Stupid, stupid, stupid...

A few minutes later, my hair was back to it's not-as-horrifying-but-still-pretty-messy-normal state, and I had donned my usual clothes, with a gray zip up hoodie added, and I was ready for a walk.

Why was _I,_ the ever-lazy _Casey_ taking a walk? Well, I'd been walking on the treadmill for a while before this whole incident because of my ankle – I needed to work up resistance and strength in it for gym next year, and I had been somewhat terrified that I would hurt it again – and there was no use stopping that _now,_ especially if we were gonna be around Zim and Dib.

All that _running. _Yeesh, I didn't need to twist my ankle and re-sprain it or something!

Plus, it was nice and somewhat chilly out. An excuse to wear a hoodie and walk around a bit, spy on the neighbors... Yeah, that sounded creepy, and it _was,_ no denying, but I was a little bored.

I checked on Sasha as I made my way to the front door – she was fine, if not soaking in a puddle of her own drool – made sure to move my backpack _away _from her gross _drool,_ put the note somewhere that she'd see it, and exited the front door.

I stood on the outside front stoop, breathing nice, fresh, September air into my lungs via my nose and sighed. There was a slight chill in the air added with a cool breeze that nipped at my ears and tugged at my hair, and the sun was just starting to melt the slight ground-frost the cold night had brought. My breath fogged in front of my face and so did my glasses, slightly, as I exhaled.

I grinned.

_Perfect._

I started walking in a random direction, hands tucked into my hoodie's pockets to protect them from the cold. I breathed in and out through my nose as I walked, head down. I glanced at my surroundings occasionally, not wanting to get lost, but I mainly kept my gaze on the concrete.

The neighborhood wasn't exactly pleasant looking, and the strangely red sky – caused by pollution no doubt (or maybe Jhonen's sense of humor) – didn't exactly capture my attention at the moment, seeing as it wasn't very sunny out and it was kinda foggy and crummy and horrible in general.

_Still,_ I mused as I paused at a line of ants who were just starting their daily work. I stared at them a moment, before shrugging and stepping over them – not having the heart to kill them today – continuing on my way. _This IS rather pleasant in itself... Just walking..._

And it was kinda surreal, knowing that this all really _was _real, if that made any sense... It felt like a small part of the BIG impact that entering another universe – the total SHOCK of it – had leaked through and was leaving me slightly numb... Maybe _that_ was why I was so 'Muted' today? Hmm... Or I was just tired, of course...

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I almost shrieked when I just barely missed stepping on something pink and squishy looking.

I did, however, jump back, trip on my own feet, yelp in surprise, and land on my butt all very quickly and with a lot of jerky, embarrassing wavy arm movements.

But you didn't hear that from me. Nope. Actually, I wasn't freaked out at all! Nope!

…

Whatever. It scared me, big deal.

I blinked, looking at the small fleshy looking thing that had scared me, and blushed a little in embarrassment.

It was a pig.

A rubber pig.

Great.

I looked around, slightly panicked that someone had seen me, and realized what the pig was and what it meant the exact same instant that my eyes settled on the eerily glowing green house and never-ending-stares of the 'Lawn Gnome Guards' all owned by a certain 'boy'.

I had – unconsciously or consciously, it didn't matter – wandered through the neighborhood until I'd reached Zim's 'house'.

… Cool, I guess...

I frowned a little, standing up. With one hand I brushed the gravel and dirt off of my butt and with the other I picked up the little squeaky pig toy, eying it. I squeezed it and it let loose a squeaky 'oink'.

I giggled. No wonder Gir liked these things, they were adorable. I could see how the easily distracted robot could come to love these.

I looked up at the house, eying the darkened windows and laser-wielding-yet-somewhat-innocent-looking fat gnomes. My ears picked up a faint, weird humming sound that I realized was the base, and if I concentrated, I could feel the faintest of vibrations from all the underground machinery in the soles of my feet.

_Machinery._ I smiled at that, only to frown a bit. I looked around worriedly, my curiosity – unwillingly – peaked. I mean, it didn't _look_ like anyone was home – and of _course_ I understood that that could be the whole _point_ of what Zim was trying to pull off here – but he could also just as easily be out at the moment, shopping or on recon or something!

… Pfft. Zim. _Shopping. Pffft!_

And... Come on! The Base was just there! All that technology, just sitting there, _taunting me_, things from the show that I'd always longed to see... My fingers twitched as I unconsciously took a step forward.

I mean... I was kinda a Tech-nut... Not that I was very good with things like html codes and stuff – though I could figure out devices pretty quickly and solve a few minor problems with TV's and phones and stuff, though I tended to infect every computer I touched with a virus of some sort – but it was all very fascinating to me! Cool.

And, well... When I wasn't over-thinking things – in other words, blatantly ignoring my good ol' brain – I _was_ pretty compulsive...

…

Oh dear God.

I've become Dib.

… I don't know how to feel about that...

… But... I... Well, I really _shouldn't,_ of course, but... A quick peek through the window couldn't hurt anyone, could it? And, if Zim spotted me or something and freaked, I could probably be halfway down the street before he managed to get off of his lawn... I could run fast when I wanted to... Plus Zim was kinda a spazz, so he might trip... Heh.

My fingers twitched a bit again and I gulped as I slowly trotted towards the white picket fence, tugging at my baggy hoodie sleeves a little. I didn't hear anything different other than my own breathing quickening slightly and the background noise that came with living in a rural area – and the humming buzz of Zim's Base wasn't changing in pitch, volume, or speed... That was a good sign... Maybe...

I reached the gap in the fence and paused, blinking and staring at the gnomes peevishly. I didn't exactly trust them to be predictable... Sometimes they were on, sometimes they were off, and I didn't exactly have Dib-like reflexes!

How did they even function and track an intruder anyway? Heat-tracker? Motion sensors? Something else? What set them off, anyway? HOW did they get set off anyway?

I, impulsively, threw the little squeaky pig on to the lawn and jumped back.

It landed on the sidewalk, bounced a few times with accompanying squeaks, then rolled to a stop into the grass.

Nothing happened after that. The gnomes stayed still, traffic – off somewhere that I couldn't see at the moment – continued, and a dog barked.

I blinked, then glared at the lawn gnomes, raising my nose slightly. "_You_ don't fool me." I hissed. "I know you know that I know that you know that _I'm here..._ You're just being _clever_ aren't you? Waiting for me to step into the lawn so you can _shoot_ me... _Clever..."_ I blinked, realizing I was talking to myself – sorta – and blushed, sighing.

I really needed to stop doing that.

This universe already had a crazy, paranoid, paranormal enthusiast and it did NOT need an even nuttier, more dangerous one.

In yet another impulsive move, I took off one of my shoes and tossed it at one of the gnomes. It hit one bulbous eye with a 'clank!' and I ducked with a squeak, covering my head and preparing for death or at least a mild singeing.

…

After crouching like an idiot with my hands over my head with nothing happening for at LEAST a minute, I straightened, and looked around. Everything... APPEARED normal... Hmm...

So, I shrugged, and marched onto the lawn, throwing caution to the wind, maybe even stomping on it a bit, grinding my heel into it's nose.

…

Well, I didn't get shot as soon as I entered the lawn, that was good.

I retrieved my shoe, tugging it on as I hopped down the path to the pig on one leg (I probably looked like an idiot). As soon as my shoe was on properly, I dropped my foot and grabbed the pig. I stared at it a moment, squeaked it, then tucked it into a pocket and walked the rest of the way up to the front stoop of Zim's house as if nothing was happening.

I stepped up onto the front stoop then stopped for a moment in front of the door. My brain seemed to suddenly wake up, asking me just WHAT I was doing, WHY I was doing it, and IF I knew that I was insane yet.

And it asked all of this in a very annoying voice, just to irk me all the more. JERK.

But... This _was_ kinda a bad idea... Who KNEW what could happen?! Maybe I should just count my lucky stars that I hadn't been caught yet and make a run for it? Yeah, that was a good idea! Shoulda done that in the first place! WHY was I so STUPID?!

I started to take a step back, biting my lower lip, and then the door flew open.

I squeaked, leaping back, and managed to fall – tripping – off of the stoop and on to my butt... _Again_. I closed my eyes for a second, hissing because I'd landed on my tail bone (OW!), and then my eyes quickly snapped open.

I felt panic start to automatically rise up in me... At least, until I spotted just WHO had opened the door.

"Hello!" Gir greeted, dressed in his doggy suit. He giggled, trotting out of the house and up to me. He crawled up onto my bent knees and sat there in one fluid movement, grinning down at me as he perched – seemingly perfectly naturally – on my knees. "Hello!" He repeated, and waved, just in case I didn't get it.

Just in case.

I felt my panic crash and wash away and I let out a nervous giggle, brushing some hair out of my face as the adrenaline died down. "Uh, hiya Gir..." I said, blushing in embarrassment a little, yet still sighing in relief as I sent him a wave. Just Gir. Just the crazy robot. Nothing to worry about, yet.

"HELLO!" Gir said loudly once more, making certain that I had gotten it, and then he giggled. "What are yooouuuu doin' here, Cassy-Cas? Yooooouuuu come over to PLAY?" Gir asked, giving me a sweet look. Darn his cuteness... It would be the end of me, I knew it.

"Uh, sorta..." I said. I grabbed him under his 'armpits' and stood up, still holding him. He wiggled and squeaked in my grip and I bit my lip to stifle an 'aw'. I laughed a little instead. "You're too cute, it's not even fair." I muttered sourly, setting him down on the front stoop. I looked at him a moment as he blinked up at me, making squeaking noises. "Uhm, well I'd better get going..." I said awkwardly after a minute, taking a step back.

Gir gave me a suddenly very disappointed look, freezing me in my tracks. "Cassy-Cas is going already?" He asked, looking at me with big eyes.

I felt my heart clench up. _HE WAS TOO BLOODY CUTE AND IT WASN'T EXACTLY FAIR! DANG IT ALL TO HECK!_

"Uh, yeah...?" I started to say slowly. I yelped as the little green 'dog' suddenly grabbed my hand, dragging me into the house via the still open door – _dang _he was strong for a little guy!

"But you came over so now you have to _PLAY!_" Gir argued, his own logic apparently flawless in his own mind as I tugged at my arm uselessly. The door closed automatically behind me as I was dragged in to the colder-than-I'd-expected house and, thinking that enough to keep me here, Gir let go. He turned around to grin up at me. "Let's play with the COLOR STICKS, CASSY!" Gir shrieked, clapping his hands.

I flinched, then shushed him, rubbing at my wrist a little as I scowled. Gir's grip was soft, thanks to the 'puppy paw' but he was still metal underneath all the felt, and OWCH was it hard.

Gir giggled and I sent him a sour, panicked look. "Gir, SHUSH!" I hissed, looking around frantically, as if expecting Zim to appear and suddenly gut me with a spoon... An alien spoon, but still a spoon. Yet another reason to not like the things. "I'm not exactly supposed to _**be**__ here!_"

Gir just blinked at me before grinning. "LET'S PLAY WITH THE COLOR STICKS, NOW!" He repeated at a shout, waving his arms around in the air a little.

"No, Gir! Let's play the _quiet game!_" I hissed desperately, making 'calm down' sort of hand motions at him. "You know how to play that, right? You sit here, _quietly, _and I escape out the window, yeah?" I offered, jabbing a thumb at the near-by window.

Gir blinked at me for a few seconds and, foolishly, I hoped that he'd gotten it... I'd actually started to relax, and then he let out an ear-piercing giggle and pointed right at me. "YOU'RE FUNNY!" He shouted, squealing and clapping his 'paws'. Oh my God! Didn't he ever shut up?!

… Wait, I know the answer to that.

NO!

"Gir, please, SHUSH!" I said desperately, waving my hands at him again. I suddenly froze at the weird, new hum accompanied by a clanking that filled my ears. That sounded close... Like it was coming from the kitchen... And it sounded pretty dang familiar...

Oh,crud.

And then someone started yelling.

"GIR! I thought I told you to be QUIET?!" A voice shouted.

I watched in horror as, across from me in the kitchen, a pair of antennae, and then a green face and red-uniform clad body, emerged from the comically (or rather, creepily) placed toilet. Red eyes suddenly widened as they spotted me just standing in the middle of the living room like a deer in the headlights, and antennae rose, twitching frantically.

It was Zim, undisguised...

It was Zim, and I was in his house, standing in the middle of his living room.

It was _Zim._

…

_ Shoot._

"But I'm playin' wit CASSY-CAS, Master!" Gir complained pointing at me, unnecessarily at this point, as Zim stared at me in shock and, presumably, horror.

I blinked, frozen in my own shock and horror – and fear, of course, couldn't go a day without THAT stuff, apparently – and took a step back. "Oh, _crud._" I squeaked, then I bolted, heart racing as I held back a nervous laugh.

I was weird that way.

I tended to laugh when scared... And especially when I was terrified.

Laughing right now wouldn't be altogether appropriate at the moment, though, so I shut myself up and bit my lip.

"COMPUTER! INTRUDER ALERT!" I heard Zim scream behind me, panicked. It was accompanied by a crash that I thought safe to assume was him falling out of the toilet and onto his face (heh). There was a nearly automatic metallic clanking from above and a hissing that I didn't dare turn my head around or pause to discover the source of, and I reached the door.

_Yes, yes, yes!_

I managed to get my shaking hands on the doorknob and twist it slightly. I really thought that I was going to make it for a moment – at least I thought it a little bit – as the door cracked open a fraction. I really thought so. I even managed a smile as I thought of all the yelling that Zim would be aiming at me. I almost started to laugh.

And then something collided with my temple and I was sent flying forward. My forehead hit the doorknob and I made a choking noise twisting around as I fell. My back slammed into the door, closing it, and I sank to the ground, just barely able to hear Gir's laughter as everything blurred.

* * *

><p>I woke up with a gasp suddenly, and my eyes flew open, only to snap shut. I hissed in pain. Oh GOD, my head felt as thought someone was beating on it repeatedly with a wooden spoon! And that bright light shining in my eyes wasn't helping! Stupid light! STUPID! EVERYTHING!<p>

… Wait a minute... Someone WAS beating on my head with a wooden spoon! What the H?! Seriously?!

… Have I mentioned before that I do not like spoons?

My eyes snapped open again, and I ignored the pounding in my scull as I looked up.

I was tied down to some sort of tilted metal table, arms and legs pinned to my sides by metal cables, and as far as I could see, I was in some sort of experimentation room with empty glowing tubes surrounding me on all sides. The lighting was terrible, too, everything was dark while only 'my' table and the tubes were lit up.

Over-dramatic, much? One would think that just being _tied down to a metal table _would be enough to freak someone out, but _nooooo,_ the _lighting_ had to be all spooky too!

Gah, villans... They were too nerdy for their own good.

Surprisingly – or rather, unsurprisingly – Gir, out of disguise, was sitting just above my head, beating it lightly with a wooden spoon. Well... Now he was beating my forehead, but still...

"Good morning!" Gir squeaked, grinning at me, and I squinted one eye shut as he continued beating me on the head, cyan eyes squinted nearly shut in his joy.

"Ow. Ow. Could you please not do that? Ow." I asked quietly, flinching. Gir only blinked at me, giggled, then started to beat one of my EARS with it, causing a slight clacking sound as he beat my earring too and also making me feel half deaf.

… Well... That was KIND of better...

Not really though... No, not at all, actually.

But wait, I was starting to panic, better get back to that.

My heart started racing as I looked around again. Dang it, dang it, dang it! I wiggled, trying to see if I could unpin my arms from my sides, to no avail, then lifted my head slightly and impulsively slammed it back down on the metal table as hard as I could. It didn't help me in any conceivable way of course – in fact, it made my headache worse – but I was doing it as a small form of self-punishment.

I started muttering under my breath, glaring at the ceiling.

This was all MY fault, of course! I just HAD to go and be stupid, didn't I? I just HAD to see what I could get away with. I'm such a NUB!

Dang it.

Dang it, dang it, dang it.

"I'm an idiot..." I muttered, glaring up at nothing in particular. I wanted to punch myself. Of course, I couldn't, seeing as I was PINNED TO A TABLE!

That's when someone – someone whom I already knew the identity of – chuckled in amusement, tone cold. "Yes you are, Dirt-Child, yes you are..."

Though my heart started racing again and I could feel my pulse in my temples – not that I couldn't already, thanks to Gir and whatever had hit me in the head in the first place, _ow_ – I couldn't help but raise my head and give a sarcastic grin to the green being that stalked out of the shadows, it's own, much more evil, grin on it's face.

"Hello, _Cas-ey._" The undisguised Zim hissed, the lighting making him look a LOT more sinister than he actually was, I noticed.

"Hello _Z-im._" I said, imitating his voice and pronunciation as he walked up to the table to leer over me. "How long did it take you to get the lighting just right, anyway? Looks REALLY nice and sinister."

Yes.

Sarcasm.

Brilliant, brilliant sarcasm.

Because THAT always helps in a situation such as THIS.

NUB ALERT. NUUUUUBBB ALERT. HEY! SOMEONE! DETAIN ME!

OH, WAIT, _I ALREADY AM DETAINED!_

DANG IT ALL.

Zim grinned. "You really think so? Thanks! I spent – _wait a minute._" Zim cut himself off and glared angrily at me as I snickered a little. He scowled. "You think you can fool ME!? YOU with your, eh, twisty words!" He pointed at me suddenly. "WORD TWISTER!"

I blinked at him as he jabbed his finger at my face a few times. "O... Kay." I frowned. "Get that finger out of my face before I bite it." I continued, eye twitching slightly. Not to be mean, but I didn't exactly like the rubbery smell coming off of that thing... Or the fact that it was so close to _my face._

I didn't like things... _Touching_ me.

Zim laughed; cackled really, and his finger left my line of sight as he folded his hands behind his back. "You're hardly in a place to be making _threats_, human." Zim said, turning around and stalking out of my line of sight.

I lifted my head, craning my neck to watch him as he made his way over to a hovering sort of table thing with weird devices shewn on it. Meanwhile, Gir started beating the TOP of my head...

"Yeaaah... Well could you put me in a position where I AM?" I gave him a winning smile as he glanced at me over his shoulder, raising an 'eyebrow' and an antennae. I let out a sigh. "Yeah... That was lame..." I admitted, shrugging as much as I could in my position.

Zim blinked at me before he just shook his head and started rummaging around all the weird devices on the floating table, muttering to himself about stupid humans. "Seeing as you've discovered what I really am, Cas-ey, I'm afraid that I'll have to be wiping your brain-meats clean..." He spoke up.

I couldn't see the grin on his face but I could darn well hear it! And that just made my pulse rush even faster. It wasn't good when Zim got smug. Either he was actually proving to be a danger, or he was being exceptionally stupid about something...

"Buuuuut I already knew you were an alien! Even _before_ Gir dragged me in here!" I argued, watching as he lifted certain devices up and eyed them, grinning. I gulped watching as he shrugged. Maybe that hadn't helped...

… Why WOULD it have helped in the first place?

… I should have tried to sleep more... I was stupid when I was tired...

Well, I was stupid in general, but now I was _more_ stupid...

Foo.

"Yes, that is another reason I have to wipe your pitiful human memory." He spun around, grinning and holding up a large needle. It wasn't attached to a vial or anything, oh no, it was just a huge, freaking needle...

I hated needles.

"I'll have to punish Gir later, of course, but anyway, the Sasha-worm will be next after you've become a mindless zombie _slave_, but YOU will have the honor of being my very FIRST human test subject, _Cas-ey!_" He started advancing towards the table, grinning maliciously and I squirmed, panicking. "Feel honored that I did not simply dispose of you!"

Nope. This couldn't happen! Nope, nope, nope! I did NOT want that huge NEEDLE to go into – I assumed – my FLIPPING BRAIN. NO THANK YOU! That was off, freaking, limits.

"Uhm..." I started to say, mind racing to figure out some sort of plan or clever comment that could get me out of this mess. I opened and closed my mouth, preparing to... Well, I don't really know what I was going to do, argue? Scream? only to jump – as well as I could, given my restrained state – as a sudden and very loud 'BOOM!' echoed throughout the base, causing it to shake.

Zim let out a cry of surprise that quickly turned into anger as he glared upwards and my eyes widened. His glare easily – pretty much automatically, if you were being honest – switched to Gir as some dust and dirt floated down from the ceiling.

"GIR!" He snapped, clenching his fists so tightly that I wondered if he was going to break the needle he still held in one hand and stab himself by accident. Sadly, he didn't.

Darn.

That would have been a wonderful distraction.

"I thought I told you NOT to put that stinky human can in the pitiful heating device?!" Zim continued, sounding _quite _snappish.

As far as I could tell, that meant 'oven' and 'can of beans', or some other canned item or cooking device.

Gir relented his hitting of my face – which he had not even paused in doing when I was talking to Zim, crazy nub – and blinked at Zim. "I was makin' CORN!" He shouted, and started beating my head again. Oh, so it had been corn... Okaaay... As good as anything, I guess... Corn was nice.

Ignoring my quiet 'ow'-ing, Zim let out a growl and stalked back over to the floating table. He slammed the needle down on it with a clang and sent a glare at Gir. "Watch the human, Gir. I have to go make sure nothing is too horribly DAMAGED because of you!" He started muttering sourly to himself about 'incompetent slaves' and walked over to a near-by bare spot on the wall, where a seamless door suddenly slid open, revealing a small elevator shaft. He entered it, glaring at the floor with his fists clenched, and then the door closed.

I stayed as still as I could, listening to the mild hum coming from the elevator as it traveled upwards, and then I let out a loud sigh and slumped against the table, head falling back against it as I closed my eyes.

Good. He was gone... That meant I was a bit more calm now, without him 'breathing down my neck' so to speak... I could try and come up with a plan now.

The headache wasn't helping me at all, though...

Gir suddenly stopped beating my head and squealed. I opened my eyes just as he landed on my stomach, causing a loud 'OOF!' to escape me as he squished my internal organs like jello. He sat down and blinked for a moment. Then...

"I'm watchin' yoooouuuuuuu..." He said, giving me a 'creepy' look that was actually more cute than I'm sure he was trying to pull off. He stuck his tongue out and started to poke my nose with the thin end of the wooden spoon, giggling and nodding his head.

"Please stop." I asked, eye twitching again. Why did everything feel the need to poke, prod and _TOUCH_ my _FACE?_

I DID NOT FIND THAT AMUSING, UNIVERSE. OKAY? Okay.

Gir blinked at me, then grinned. "OKAY!" He squealed. I flinched a little at his loudness and watched with a raised eyebrow as he threw the wooden spoon away with a little 'Nye!'. He looked down at me expectantly as it clattered against the ground somewhere off to my left, as if expecting praise, or maybe some chiding.

I blinked at him slowly, getting an idea. Wondering if it would work – and figuring that it had a 50/50 chance of doing so, seeing as this _was_ Gir – I gave a bit of a lopsided smile. "Uh, hey... Could you let me out of this thing, please?" I asked a little sheepishly. _Please work, please work..._

Gir looked at me, blinked, and then his eyes were suddenly red. _"Prisoner is not authorized to __leave it's confines. You will stay were you are!"_ He said in his 'Duty Mode' voice, making me flinch.

Honestly, he was a little scary when he 'Went Red', and I gulped. "Pretty please? I'll, uh..." I recalled something suddenly and grinned. "I'll give you a piggy!" I said. Oh my God, I was SO freaking lucky. Oh. My. Freaking. God...

Gir, after a seemingly infinate second, let out a squeal, eyes fading back to cyan. "Piggy?! Where? Where's da piggy?!" He asked, looking around and jumping up and down slightly.

Ignoring the fact that he might be puncturing my liver – it sure as heck felt like it – I grinned – as much as I could in my state – at him. "Nuh-uh. No piggy till you let me goooo..." I said leadingly, praying that it would work.

Gir blinked down at me, looking like he was thinking, if only slightly. Eventually, he nodded. "Okaaaay... But you have ta promise to play with me, too!" He said. I blinked, about to open my mouth and answer, when he gripped my cheeks and started to shake my head. "You have to _prooommiisssseeee!"_ He droned, shaking my head back and forth and causing my lips to press together, making 'fish-lips' as I stared at him, eyes wide in shock.

Ow.

I blinked at him before shaking my head, freeing it from his grip (_dang_ his hands were cold!). "Fine! I'll play with you when I can, okay? Is that good enough?" I said quickly, heart starting to race with the thrill of being let go and the fear of being caught. I didn't really wanna be all that too specific in my promise, seeing as this was, well, GIR, and he was, technically, insane. He could take it any way, though, so I was basically doomed no matter WHAT I promised.

Oh well.

Gir blinked before giggling – _again_ – and nodding. "Yes!" He said, and jumped off of me. I heard a clang as he hit the floor and then metallic footsteps running away somewhere off to my left. After that, it was silent, and I felt the first tickling of dread, thinking that, maybe, Gir had either lied (which didn't really seem likely, this was GIR), or had instantly forgotten what he was supposed to be doing (which seemed far more likely), and had wandered off to do other things.

I was about to call out after him – secretly hoping that my voice wouldn't waver – when there was a sudden clank and the two metal clamps keeping me pinned to the table swung upwards with creaks and squeals, hurting my ears a little.

I sat up quickly, grinning, only to groan and hold at my head. _Bad idea, bad idea._

My head _still_ felt as though Gir was beating it with a metal spoon...

_Thhaaankksss,_ Gir...

I muttered to myself about being stupid and perhaps twisting Zim's antennae a bit before I escaped as punishment for all of this (even though it was mostly my own fault). I swung my legs over the edge of the table, eyes closed. _Dang, what'd he hit me with?_

There was a metallic 'fwomp!' sort of sound and I opened my eyes. Gir had sat down next to me, for some reason having put back on his dog suit, leaving the hood down. He gave me a look, tipping his head, and then suddenly held out his hands – err... Paws.

"Piggy?" He asked, opening and closing his 'paws' a little and giving me 'baby robot eyes'. His paws squeaked a bit. (why was that, anyway? Was the inside of the suit rubbery? Did it rub against his metal 'skin' and squeak? WHY had I suddenly gone into Dib-mode again, anyway? Geeze, brain, ON TASK, please.)

I felt my anger melt – most of it at least – and I couldn't help but grin.

"Child." I muttered to myself, and pulled out the rubber pig from before, dropping it in Gir's hands. Immediately, he squealed and hugged it to his face, babbling about being so happy that 'Britney had come back' as the pig squeaked pitifully. I just shook my head, smiling, and looked around a bit, waiting for my headache to go away, and perhaps my legs to wake up, seeing as they'd fallen asleep.

Gir was such a child... But still, that didn't mean that he wasn't creepy. Sure, he was being cute now, but he was actually kinda a creepy little bugger...

Bah, I'd enjoy the cuteness while it lasted... It was nice, sweet.

Gir started making airplane noises and waved the pig around like it was a plane. I smiled faintly before I just shook my head and, as gently as I could, I slid off the table.

I stumbled as I landed, my legs giving out a slight pang that made the bottoms of my feet prickle. My head pounded a little, the back of my eyes feeling like they were being tapped on by finger-tips and I scowled, grumbling to myself. "How long was I out, anyway?" I wondered aloud, looking over at Gir.

The robot just blinked at me before laughing and going back to his little game.

"Well, hopefully not long enough for a concussion..." I mumbled, looking around. "If you're unconscious for more than – what was it? – twenty to thirty minutes or so, I think, you can get head damage, you know." I looked at Gir again, and saw that he had lain down on his back, sticking out his tongue as he continued to make airplane noises, waving the pig around. I sighed, rubbing at my temples. "How exactly is this different than simply talking to myself?" I asked.

_It's not. It's just a little more __**stupid**__ than usual, seeing as it's __**Gir.**_

"Yes, thank you for that." I muttered before spinning around. "Okay!" I said, mustering as cheerful a voice as I could. Gir looked up, somehow finding enough mental ability to understand that I was addressing him. "Gir, honey, how do I get out of here?" I asked slowly.

Gir blinked at me a few times, giggling dying down, before he simply pointed at the spot of bare wall where Zim had disappeared. "Master when that-a-way."

As if on cue, there was a sudden angry shriek from somewhere above me. I flinched, shoulders hunching. That would be Zim. From the sound of it, the damage was bad.

I had to hurry, Zim might not clean the kitchen up himself and just come down here right away to scold Gir... And then see me 'escaping'. And he was angry anyway... I REALLY didn't want to deal with THAT.

I calmed myself down and managed a sigh. To be honest, this wasn't the worst Gir could get, and I knew that. "No, no, no, like... A DIFFERENT way." I explained quickly, sending a skittish glance upwards before returning my gaze to Gir. "I'm, ah, playing hide-and-seek with Zim right now, I gotta go a way that he won't SEE me." Ugh, my headache was getting wooorrrsseee...

"OOOooohhhh..." Gir said, nodding sagely. "What's that mean?"

I groaned. "Is there another way out of here? Another lift, maybe?" I tried clarifying.

Gir blinked before he nodded and pointed to his left (my right) at an even thinner spot of bare wall. "Sometimes Master uses THAT wall, slidey... Thing..." He said, seeming to get a little confused in the middle of the sentence.

I grinned, hearing a nervous giggle escape me. "Yes, Gir! Brilliant!" I rushed over to the wall, placing my hands against it. "Now, how do I open it...?" I started patting it in random spots, frowning.

Seeming to think it a game, Gir laughed and jumped off of the table thing and skipped over to my side, starting to pat the wall too.

"What we do-in?" He sang and I shushed him, ignoring his blank look. I patted the wall, moving to roughly doorknob height. Come on, come ooonnn!

I was starting to panic – more than I already was – when my hand rested on a patch of metal that felt a little cooler than the rest. It was a little to my right and, surprise surprise, doorknob height. There was a sudden, not too positive sounding beep, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Hand-print not recognized." A droning, somewhat – well, pretty much, actually – male voice said. "Too bad." It added.

I groaned, recognizing the voice of the Computer. "What?! Come oonn, dang it!" I snapped, stomping my foot. I looked down at Gir, who was now patting the floor, and impulsively grabbed his arm and pressed his hand into the wall, ignoring his gleeful squeal and the fact that this was completely illogical.

"Hand-print recognized. Lucky guess." The Computer said and a door suddenly appeared in the wall, sliding open.

Oh.

I gawked, dragging Gir into the small, rounded elevator with me without much thought, still holding his hand. "Seriously? SERIOUSLY? You'll recognize the FELT PAW of a ROBOT in disguise – which holds almost NO DNA – but not a _human_ hand? GOD." I shook my head, frowning and almost completely ignoring Gir as he started swinging from my arm.

"Look, I didn't program the elevators, female." The Computer snapped at me. The elevator lurched as it started ascending and I rolled my eyes, keeping my balance.

"Whatever..." I muttered, head pounding again. The Computer didn't respond and I wondered in the back of my mind if I could have annoyed it enough yet to make it want to kill me.

Of course, I was proven wrong when I looked up after a moment and saw a thin circle of light fast approaching. I blinked, and I was suddenly emerging from the 'toilet' in Zim's 'kitchen', which was splattered with bits of corn.

"Ew." I muttered, ignoring Gir as he squealed and dived into a thick pile of the stuff. I blinked suddenly. "Wait, how come I got up here so fast but it took Zim a couple of minutes?" I asked, climbing out of the 'toilet' (EW!) and sending a suspicious look around. "And where IS Zim anyway?"

The Computer made an odd huffing sound that reminded me of shrugging. "I like to mess with him, sometimes." It admitted. "And _Master's_ traveling down to the 'Cut Stuff Up' room as we speak, you missed him by a couple of seconds, actually."

I blinked, feeling an odd rush in the pit of my stomach and another bang in my head. "Oh, well, thanks for that, I guess." I mumbled, blinking

The Computer made a scoffing noise as Gir rolled around in the corn. "Don't thank me, I didn't have anything to do with that. You were just 'lucky' as you humans say." He paused. "But you're welcome, I suppose." It's voice was almost smug.

"Oh..." I murmured, gripping my head with one hand. "Nice." My tone was slightly sarcastic because, honestly, my head was REALLY starting to hurt and that little tid-bit of information wasn't exactly comforting.

I stumbled across the kitchen, ignoring the mashed up and gross corn clotting on to the bottom of my shoes, and into the living room. Man, I was really starting to get dizzy... What was I even supposed to do?

I swore under my breath. I couldn't think, right now, dang it. My HEAD. GAH, it _hurt!_ This was _horrible!_

I groaned, and stumbled over to the couch. I leaned against it a moment, one hand on it's arm, the other on my head. This was a _really_ bad idea...

… Wait a minute.

I didn't care.

Huh.

I think I might just have suffered a bit of head damage.

Hm.

Deciding that I didn't give a rat's butt if it was the most stupid idea in the history of ideas – especially _my_ ideas, the ones notorious for being_ stupid_ – I crawled onto the couch, to the far end of it, and sat down. I tried to ignore Gir's high-pitched squealing and slouched, pressing my head into the back cushion. Ugh, this couch smelled like mold... _Eww..._

After a moment, Computer spoke up again. "You know, Zim's gonna be pretty mad when he sees that you've escaped..." It said.

"Mm-hmm..." I mumbled, draping my one arm across my forehead while I rubbed a lump on the back of my head with the other.

"He's gonna be even more ticked when he sees you on the couch-thing."

"Gah, yeah..." I agreed, nodding. "True."

"... Are all humans this stupid?" The Computer asked, seeming genuinely curious. He was actually kinda... Normal sounding. For an alien computer.

"Mh... No... Some are more stupid... Not many..." I mumbled. "Say, you got any aspirin?"

"... No?"

"Gah, useless..." I muttered, frowning.

_**"GYAAAAAAAAA!? WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT IS THIS?!"**_ A voice suddenly screamed, making me flinch, and I imagined that the house – maybe even the world – shook. Meh, it might have just been my head pounding away.

"Sounds like Zim's found you missing." Computer mused, voice slightly coy.

"Mh-hmm." I muttered. I couldn't really muster a lot of 'care' over the subject at the moment, my head just hurt too much.

In retrospect, I was kinda being an idiot. To anyone else at the moment, I was probably being THE Idiot. The one idiot that all other idiots were compared to. I was at a level of idiocy that none could hope to match.

… Then again, my head _really_ hurt.

"He's probably going to kill you, you know." Computer said helpfully.

"Yep." I muttered, ignoring the sounds of panicked screaming coming from below. What was even going on at this point? Well, if I cracked my eye open, I could see Gir... _Swimming_ around in the corn... Weird... Maybe I'd been drugged?

… Hey, maybe I should call Sasha? Yeah... Call for help, that seemed vaguely normal, and helpful... Vaguely coherent, really.

I sat up a little, reaching into my pocket. I pulled out my phone, blinking a little. Now that I had a somewhat clear goal, my head was clearing, though my vision was a little funky. I wasn't even going to THINK about my balance at this point, best to just call Sash.

I navigated to contacts and pressed Sasha's number. I sat up straight as panic started to flood back, bringing reason and thought with it. But that was kinda good, right? You were supposed to think, and concentrate, and NOT fall asleep if you had a concussion, and that was very possible at this point...

_Gah, I need to get myself together..._ I thought as the dial tone started.

* * *

><p>Sasha blinked, eyes widening, and she stuck her head out of the kitchen, face splattered with paint and cheeks stuffed with the last bites of a candy bar. She swallowed it as she rushed to her phone, which she'd left on the coffee table, trying to ignore the banging and focus on the ringing.<p>

"Heeeellooooo?" She asked, coughing on her candy bar as she answered her phone.

"Sasha? Holy crow you actually picked up!" The person let out a nervous giggle mixed with a sigh.

"Caaaaaseey! Heey! What's up?" Sasha asked, grinning a little as she sat on the couch arm.

"What's up? Well, nothing, ONLY I WAS JUST CAPTURED BY ZIM AND NOW I'VE GOT A FREAKING CONCUSSION OR SOMETHING AND CAN'T THINK AND I'M SITTING IN HIS LIVING ROOM AND I NEED HELP, ASAP!" Casey shrieked, and Sasha held the phone away from her ear a little, blinking.

"Oh..." She grinned. "Cool!"

"COOL? COOL?! I'm calling from Zim's base to ask you for help and you think it's COOL? What-" Casey suddenly cut herself off. "...Uh, hey, what's that banging?" She asked, pausing a little, like she was blinking. "And, err... Shouting? What's gong on? Are you alright?" Instantly, the anger was gone, replaced with concern.

Sasha glanced over her shoulder and at the door, where the banging was coming from, accompanied by an incoherent shouting. "Oh, that's Dib."

"... _Dib?!_"

"_Yeah,_ you know him! The big headed, pointy haired kid!" Sasha said, grinning as she placed her feet on the couch cushions, staring at the door. It shook slightly in it's frame.

"MY HEAD'S NOT BIG!"

Casey made an 'uhh' sort of noise. "Mh, Sash? What's going on?" She asked slowly, repeating her earlier statement.

Sasha examined her fingernails lazily as Dib suddenly appeared in the window, banging on the pane and holding up a camera as he ranted. "Uh, well, he showed up a while ago, knocking at the door, so I opened the door to ask 'what's up?', you know? But he was all like 'MUA HA HA HA! I'VE FOUND YOUR BASE YOU ALIEN, DEMON SPAWN THING! NOW I shall stalk you FOREVEEERRR! AH, HA HA HA!'"

"... _Actual_ words?" Casey asked dryly.

Sasha shrugged. "Mh, more or less." She mumbled, getting off of the couch and walking over to the window slowly, ignoring Dib's shouts. "So anyway, I was all like 'DORK!', and he was all like, 'I AM NOT A DORK, DEMON!', and I was all, 'Yeah-HUH you are! You've got the glasses and everything' so he said, 'Well you do too!' and I didn't have a good answer for that so I was like 'whatever' and ranted about how he was a stalker for a minute then he interrupted me and screamed about 'Ex-POSE-ing' me, err, us, so I just shut the door in his face and he didn't go away so I shouted at him that you'd come and kick his butt or that I'd eat him, and he was all 'but you're friend isn't here! And I've got maaaggiicc chaarrmsss! You can't eat me!' and I REALLY don't feel like eating anyone today, ya know? So I just kinda have been painting my walls and letting him rant for a while..."

There was dead silence on the other end of the line and Sasha stood at the window, blinking and ignoring Dib as he shouted at her.

"Err, Cas, you there?" She asked.

"... Yes. I'm here."

"... Uh, you okay?" Sasha asked, grasping the curtains lightly.

"... To be perfectly honest, I think I've got brain damage, but I'm pretty sure you're not gonna be able to help me at the moment and that your statement has made my mind all the worse."

Sasha shrugged, shutting the curtains and ignoring Dib's loud 'Hey!'. "Well, no. I'm pretty sure that if I go outside Dib'll attack me, or put some sort of voodoo curse on me... I don't need the extra voodoo, Cas."

Casey heaved a sigh and Sasha made her way to the other window, where Dib had reappeared, shouting again, but now about 'what was the deal with the curtains!?'. "Guh. Okay... But the good news is that your rantings gotten me thinking again, so I'm not gonna pass out."

"Well that's good." Sasha said, closing the other curtains and ignoring Dib's even louder 'HEY!'. "Oooh! Wait. Is Gir there?"

"Uh huh..." Cas said. "He's uh, playing in corn at the moment."

"Awww... Lucky." Sasha muttered, kicking at the floor. "Well, how're you gonna get out? Are you trapped somewhere?"

"No, I'm actually just sitting on the couch... My head really hurts, you know."

"Oh... Well, that's kinda stupid." Sasha said, and the banging suddenly restarted.

"Isn't it? Anyway, I think I just heard Zim screaming, I'm gonna have to go. If I don't get back in, like eight hours, I'm probably dead. Bye!"

"I'll make sure Zim doesn't eat your body or something, then!" Sasha said. "Bye!"

"Oh yes, that's comforting." Casey muttered before hanging up. Sasha closed her phone, shoving it in her pocket. She glanced at the door a moment before she just laughed and went back into the kitchen. Cas would be fine. Sure, she'd sounded kinda out of it, but she was clever... And good at confusing people, especially when she herself was confused.

Yeah, she'd be fine... Hopefully...

* * *

><p>I sighed and hung up on Sasha. Well, I definitely had a concussion, at the least a mild one. Dang. Or maybe I was just spacy from the head trauma? Bah, whatever, my mind was just cloudy. I didn't like that one bit, but I was gonna have to deal with it.<p>

I listened to Zim's yelling – he was yelling at himself, I think, talking aloud, only yelling, that sort of stuff – as it got louder. I stuffed my phone into my pocket just as the 'trash can' opened and Zim hopped out, still yelling, only now it was directed at Gir, who just stared at him stupidly.

"Gir! GIR! The test subject has escaped! HOW could you let this happen?! I specifically told you to WATCH HER! What about that didn't you ge – EHAAAAHEH?!" His yelling at Gir turned into a scream of surprise as he spotted me just sitting on the couch. He lept back, one foot landing in a pile of corn – which he ignored – and pointed at me. "COMPUTER! The test subject! She's on our couch! WHAT is the meaning of THIS!? CAPTURE HER!"

"Nah... I don't really feel like it..." The Computer said, then beeped, apparently going off to do something else.

Bloody wonderful Computer. Bless.

"W-What?! But she – you – she... You DARE to disobey ME?! Your MASTER?!" Zim screeched, stomping his foot. Child.

I groaned, leaning forward and clutching at my head. "Can you even comprehend the concept of QUIET?" I snapped.

Apparently, Zim didn't hear me.

"FINE! GIR! GET THE EARTH FEMALE!" Zim shouted, marching into the kitchen doorway. He pointed at me, scowling. Lots of shouting today, apparently.

Gir peeked out of a pile of mushy corn, blinked, then gave a "Nu-uh!" And ducked back into it.

Zim gawked at him a moment as I snickered, and then he growled. "FINE! _I_ shall capture her!" He started marching towards me, an angry scowl on his face. I watched him until he was right in front of me. I raised an eyebrow as he halted, placing his hands on his hips and giving me a look. Is simply sent him a confused look back.

"What?"

Zim nodded towards the kitchen. "Go on, you are at my mercy! You obviously quake in fear of me, for you have not left for fear of punishment! Best to get back down there before you suffer my HIDEOUS WRATH!" He seemed to do a full body sort of twitch and I couldn't help but snort.

Wow. Someone was full to the brim... Of _HIMSELF!_

Hurray for lame jokes.

Har Har.

"Uh, _no._" I said, sarcasm rising as I ignored his shocked look. "I mainly have a horrible headache, no REAL _quaking._" That was kinda a lie. I WAS kinda frightened, but at this point, my headache was making me more annoyed than scared, which wasn't exactly smart.

But at this point you should have realized that I am not a very smart person.

Zim blinked. "Eh-uh, but what _other_ reason could you possibly have for not escaping? The door is right there." He pointed at it, then suddenly added, voice morphing into a slightly panicked, slightly full of himself tone. "It MUST be because of my AMAZING Computer, yes?!" He crossed his arms again, raising his chin. I didn't think that he was aware of the panic, though. Nah, he was too full of himself for that. Dork.

I wanted to answer right away with a sarcastic 'no', but, you know, I think I had more to say... Yeah... I actually DID have a reason for staying, I just hadn't realized it. Stupid damaged brain. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"No, actually." I said, sitting up a bit, arms propping me up as I let my head sink into my shoulders a little, a 'lazy' pose of mine. Ergh, I felt itchy now, what was with _that?_ "I kinda wanted to talk to you."

Zim's antennae twitched and he blinked at me, shocked. "_Eh?_"

"Yeah, shocking, I want to actually TALK with you, I know." I said, rolling my eyes, only to stop. It made me dizzy... "I actually just wanted to make it clear that Sasha and I aren't against you."

"_EH?_"

I smirked a little. "Yeah. Contrary to what you may believe, not all humans are going to end up being mindless alien-killing/hunting-zombies in your presence." At Zim's even more confused look, I continued. "What I'm TRYING to say, is that Sash and I aren't going to _hunt_ you or try to hurt you or something, and we're not going to try to _expose_ you. We don't really care WHAT you are, or about what you do, and we'd actually appreciate it a LOT if you wouldn't KIDNAP us for experiments. Seriously, that has to stop before it gets too serious, and more annoying than it has already proven to be."

Zim blinked. "Soo... You WANT me to invade your planet?" He asked slowly, seeming perplexed.

"Well, no. No one WANT'S that. We simply – unlike Dib – don't care." I didn't say everything, of course, like how I didn't think that he'd even be able to take over our planet (well, MAYBE he could... I just didn't have a lot of faith in that, he was kinda a spazz). "So don't go panicking over us, okay?" My voice was a little kinder now, a little more coaxing now. I WANTED him to freaking RELAX around us for Pete's sake!

"B-But the Sasha-beast! She took off my wig! In the SKOOL!" Zim argued, waving his arms around. "The _SKOOL!"_ He repeated.

I stood up, wobbling a little before regaining my balance. "Yeah, but only DIB was there! He already knows that you're an alien, so noting really HAPPENED that could have affected you in an ill way. Besides, Sash's always pulling crud like that." I argued, waving a hand a little non-nonchalantly. "It's one of the downsides that comes with having an insane friend..."

Zim narrowed his eyes at me. "Why should I trust you, Case-y-human?" Zim asked slowly. "What if you are _in lead_ with the Dib?!" He took a half step forward, eyes narrowed.

"It's 'in league_',_ Zim," I corrected him, then blinked. "I think. And anyways, if you _haven't_ noticed yet, Dib doesn't exactly _trust_ us enough for 'us' to actually form some sort of _plan_ against you." I said, crossing my arms.

Zim growled, poking my forehead suddenly, looking very suspicious of me. "So you are saying that you are on MY side?" He raised an 'eyebrow' a little, smirking almost cruelly.

I rolled my eyes, pushing away his claw and ignoring his growling at my action. "NO, I'm saying that Sash and I aren't going to get involved with any of your schemes, or Dib's schemes, or your _fights,_ we're just gonna do our own thing, and not bother you, for the most part." I said, tone a little annoyed from the poking. I didn't like to be TOUCHED. What about that did no one UNDERSTAND! And it wasn't helping that I was under a lot of stress!

Zim glared at me. "What do you want from me, then? Some sort of promise? A contract?" He snorted, amused. "Well you're not getting one! Zim would ne-"

"No." I said, interrupting him and ignoring his 'stink-eye'. I was really annoying him today, wasn't I? "I'm just letting you know. I don't want you to be confused or something, and I don't exactly want to deal with you shrieking at me about plotting with 'the Dib'. I'm perfectly fine with you being an alien, so's Sash. We're not freaked out by it and we're not gonna really bug you. I simply wanted to state the facts to you. Now, are you gonna let me out of your 'house' or am I gonna have to fight or something? 'Cause I've got a SERIOUS headache and I REALLY need to get home and go lay down or something..." I rubbed at my temples, scowling.

Zim glared at me, and seemed to consider me a moment, study me, before he growled. "_Fine,_ Case-y. I will _let_ you go, but know this," he moved forward, shoving his face into mine and I took a step back, blinking. "If you try and stop me, I'll..." He blinked, suddenly – and a bit awkwardly seeing as he was doing his whole' evil speech' thing – trailed off. "I'll, uh... Ehh..." He stuttered.

"Feed my brains to your robot?" I offered, sarcastic.

We glanced at Gir, who was now sucking on the leg of a chair, and Zim suddenly grinned. "YES! EXACTLY!" He shouted, laughing. Wow, I hadn't expected him to take that.

… Wait, did I just create a PARADOX?

… Awesomesause.

"Wonderful." I muttered, sighing. "So... I'm going to... Go now, okay?" I half asked, feeling awkward as I pointed a thumb behind me at the door, starting to back away.

Zim blinked at me. "Eh... Okay...?" He started. Gir suddenly squealed, and we both flinched as the little, corn covered robot came careening into the living room. He tackled my legs, and I stumbled back a few steps, making an 'ick' face as I felt mushed up corn get kneaded into my knees as Gir nuzzled them.

"BYEEEE, Cassy!" Gir said, squeezing my legs to the point that I SWORE that I could hear a snap or two. "Come bye and play with me again, okkaaaayyy?!"

"Gir!" Zim snapped, and Gir let go of me, hopping in front of Zim and saluting, though he still giggled. "Do NOT hug the female! She is dirty!"

"OOOIIIII!" I snapped, drawing out the word in an offended tone as I tended to do, causing Zim's antennae to flit back and his eyes to widen slightly as he looked at me. I scowled at him, brushing the corn off of my knees. "RUDE."

"... Eh?"

I stared at Zim's somewhat clueless face, decided that I probably DID smell – if only just a little bit – to him, and sighed. "Oh, never mind..." I walked to the door, ignoring Gir as he waved cluelessly at me, and managed an at least half-cheery smile. "Goodbye, Zim! See you on Monday!" I said in a slightly more cheerful voice, and left the 'house'.

I walked down the sidewalk, not really paying attention to the low sounding chastising Zim was directing towards Gir for 'hugging the filthy enemy' et-cetera. Nub.

It was a little more light out, and my watch told me that it was around nine-thirty, so I hadn't been gone that long. That was nice. And hey, it was a bit warmer, too! Sweet.

The gnomes didn't fire at me as I walked past them, but I had the sneaking suspicion that they were watching me. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and a shudder crawl down my spine. They were creepy, and I had no idea if they were each there own 'program' so to speak, or if they were all actually just the Computer and he was just trying to mess with me. Jerk.

I relaxed slightly as I reached the main sidewalk and left Zim's 'property'. I frowned as I walked away, now focusing on my ever-growing problems.

Shoving aside the fact that I had a horrible headache that may or may not be the result of a concussion, Sasha had told me that DIB was bugging her or something. Like he was stalking around the house like some sort of hyena or something.

… Odd analogy, I admit, but accurate.

So there was that to deal with. I also had to get groceries, and had to go to work, and then there would undoubtedly be homework from Skool – something I really wasn't looking forward to, seeing as I had just gotten out of actual School – and then I had to get school supplies, like calculators and things, and I also had to get Dib to calm down and figure out a 'safe' way to act around Zim so that he didn't freak. AND I had to get Sasha to behave!

I could feel the stress mounting and building behind my emotional dam and it was about to burst. I didn't need this. I knew, I _knew _that I wouldn't be able to handle this very 'healthily', no. It was all grating on my nerves and-

I froze in my walking, and my gaze snapped over to my right arm, where my left hand had already crawled up my arm and under my sleeve and started to scratch. I ripped my hand away with a gasp, then scowled, biting my lip in a small form of self-punishment. NO. NO. _NO._

I was not going to do that. Not now. Not after I'd gotten better, if only slightly.

I scowled, kicking at my feet angrily and sending a few stones flying. I continued on my way, in a considerably worse mood.

* * *

><p>By the time I got back 'home', as it was starting to become, my headache was fading a little, but that wasn't what was surprising. What was surprising was that Dib was sitting on the front stoop, his camera set down next to him. He had one elbow on his knee as his hand held up his head and his other hand was lazily tracing the camera lens besides him, looking a little lost and incredibly lonely.<p>

I felt a pang of pity pierce my veil of anger and stress, and managed a sad smile. "Hello, Dib." I greeted as I made my way down the front walk. Dib's head shot up and he stared at me for a split second, eyes wide. He seemed to be in shock for a second, and then he jumped up, grinning wickedly.

Oops, there goes some of the pity.

"You! Ha! I found out where you LIVE, CASEY! What NOW?" He taunted, grabbing his camera as he trotted up to me as I continued my steady walk towards him. "Now I'm gonna get ALL _kinds_ of proof on you two DEMONS, and then I'll be able to send it into Mysterious Mysteries and then I'll be _famous_, and you'll be in some kind of government lab with scientists and paranormal experts and they'll be experimenting on you and what's her face, and _I'll_ be experimenting on you, too! What do you think about that, huh? Huh?! HUH?!" Throughout his whole rant Dib had been getting closer and closer to me and now he was staring at me from only a little ways away, panting and grinning as I stopped to stare at him.

His rant was, honestly, really creepy, and I could probably guess that, in a few years, that if he ever reflected on it, he would realize that and feel that familiar rush of heat in his cheeks and the clenching of his stomach as embarrassment washed over him.

But, alas, it was all the dreaming and scheming of a twelve-year-old. Could you honestly blame him?

I blinked slowly at him. "I think that I've got a major headache and that you should go home, Dib." I said quietly. I didn't want to fight him, or yell at him, or rant to him about ANYTHING, relationship improving or otherwise. I was too tired and too sad and upset and stressed and I just wanted to scream and rip my hair out and sit down with a good book or write a good bit of story and forget that reality existed for a while. Or sleep. Sleeping was good.

Dib just stared at me. "What...?" He asked slowly, blinking. "But..." He waved his camera slightly as if that excused him and provided a valid reason as to keep me here.

I sighed, feeling a little sorry for him again, and grabbed the camera out of his hands.

"HEY!" He shouted, only to stare at me as I held up the camera in front of my face and snapped a photo, flinching a little at the flash. I shoved it back into his hands. I hadn't bothered to smile, and I'm sure that if I had looked at the photo I would have wanted to take a different one because of how ugly I was, but I simply didn't have the energy right now.

"There. You got a picture, happy birthday." I muttered, then stalked past him, opening the door and entering the house, locking it behind me, feet dragging across the still dusty floor.

I REALLY needed a nap...

Ignoring Dib's somewhat stuttery ranting that drifted through the door, I stalked past the kitchen, where Sash was drinking a soda. I waved at her, stopping in the doorway.

"Hey." I greeted.

Sasha was wearing her pajamas, still, but she was now covered with red, black, gray, white, what-have-you colors of paint. She blinked at me, before grinning and rushing over to me. "Casey! You're alive! Cool." She said, before sipping from her soda. "What happened?"

I sighed. "Uh, well, I explained to Zim that we aren't against him or anything, and that we were doing our 'own thing' and he actually let me go rather willingly." I gave her a tired but serious look. "Now, that means that you are to _behave."_ I snapped, and Sasha gave me a rather startled look at my tone and expression. "That means that you are to be nice to BOTH of them. Sure, you can have a favorite – Zim, right? – but you are NOT to take SIDES!" I don't know why I was suddenly so loud. I wasn't angry with her or anything, I just felt loud. "I don't want you aiding one in the destruction of the other! Sure, here and there, you can blow some crud up – though I'd prefer if you didn't – but I don't want you aiding or hindering too much! I want it to be kept even!"

Sasha stared at me as I panted slightly. "Okay, GEEZE. Gosh, I KNEW that all already!" She crossed her arms. "Why are YOU so moody?"

I just shook my head. "I don't really know. Sorry. I kinda have a headache, too... I'm gonna go lay down for a bit, m'kay?" I said, backing away.

"Sure, okay! I'll just be painting my room with some music playing to drown out Dib." Insert appropriate pause for listening to Dib's rant here, please. "So, see you later, I guess..." She smiled awkwardly.

I smiled back before I left the kitchen and entered the hall and then my room, sighing.

I made a mental note to add 'aspirin' to my shopping list before I collapsed into my bed with a huff, hoping to fight off my headache.

Yes, this was very fun, wasn't it?

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, well wasn't this interesting!? Hmmm? Well, Review! Tell me what you thought! I hope you liked it!<strong>

**Now, I'm off to watch Doctor Who! Allons-y! :)**

**BY THE WAY! I've uploaded a poll! I'd really appreciate it if you'd all check it out!**


	12. Apology

I'm sorry to say that I think I'm done with this story. I really can't see any reason to continue it at the moment. Maybe in the future I might pick it up again, but really, I've come to hate it. I am so so so sorry to anyone who actually liked this stupid thing, but it's been causing me more trouble than it's worth. So... Sorry...

Sometime in the future I may pick it back up again, when I don't hate it so much, but I can't see that happening any time soon. I'm so sorry to those of you I've kept waiting or have excited with this 'story update'. I just... Can't find any reason to continue it, it sucks.

There will be other stories, so, I guess, goodbye for now! Sorry for the trouble!


	13. Hey, long time no see!

So, hello again. I'm cautiously poking my head back into this story for a few, erm, questions i guess?

im seriously, hahaha excuse the pun, considering redoing this story. In the beginning, it was pretty much just a self-insert, but, well, Cas and Sash kinda became their own characters, you know?

But, I was thinking of restarting this, maybe in a different way. It's been sosososooo long since i've been on this site, im not even sure if there's an Invader Zim fandom anymore. I just dont know.

But, well, send in reviews if you want me to start over, or even just continue! I'd really appreciate it!


	14. info i guess

Okay, new story is up, decided to get the ball rolling with it i suppose, check it out if you want.

Also I have redesigned Casey and Sasha a bit and added a new cover picture, so, neato!


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